31 August 2o23
Yesterday, Casey informed me she was going to inject me with Filgastim to stimulate white blood cell production. Apparently my levels were low enough for concern. She gave me the first injection just as I was about to leave and then scheduled me for another on Thursday and another on Friday. All of this was under Dr. Arnaout’s direction but I think that was simply because he was the attending physician. I certainly don’t want him to take over my care. I’ll do the second injection after I visit Dr. Burgers tomorrow. I’ll also be back on a Claritin regimen. The Filgastim causes bone pain and Holy Cross did a study where Claritin mitigated the pain.
As I mentioned yesterday, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and I walked out of the infusion center at 6 pm. On the way home I stopped at J. Alexanders and ordered there prime rib with baked potato. It was OK but again, the taste just isn’t there. I probably would have been better off with a hamburger and would have been much better off price wise. With tip, it was $56. I’m really surprised restaurants can stay in business with the difficulty in hiring staff, the cost of food on their end and the cost of food for the consumer.
I got a call around 8 am this morning about my second Filgastim shot. They said walk in any time before or after my appointment with Dr. Burgers. Out of my way to Dr. Burgers (but to kill some time) I got my prescription for the remainder of the Budesonide from Walgreens. From Walgreens, it was a short trip to I-95 and the Cancer Center off Commercial Blvd. I was early because the traffic flow on I-95 was not at a standstill.
The second shot went quickly enough and I had an hour to kill before Dr. Burger’s appointment. I simply went to her sitting room and waited and played Solitaire on my phone. Lorraine called me in and when Dr. Burgers came in, she examined the scar, checked for puffiness or swelling and gave me the good news. I can go back to yoga and swimming! She even mentioned in her review notes on the Holy Cross app that I was happy to get back to the water.
The one question I had was “What comes next?” After the chemo treatments, how do I know I don’t come down with cancer again in some form. She said I would undergo periodic examinations by her (every six months after chemo) and that Dr. Velez uses the new blood test that tests for a variety of cancers.
One company is Galleri. Another is by OneTest. I certainly like the idea of a simple blood test to detect multiple cancers. Particularly since my breast cancer was a very aggressive form. Since I’m still on chemo, she still wanted to see me in 4 months.
From the Cancer Center, I headed to the post office to mail off some packages. It’s at the back of a mall near Holy Cross and the mall had a Subway shop so I stopped there for a sub to take home for lunch. Then it was a stop at Whole Foods for a few groceries. It was not my usual Whole Foods but it was on the route home. One thing I always look for are fresh flowers and what caught my eye was a bundle of gladiolas. I haven’t seen them in ages.
Hiding at the base of the gladiolas are a four pack of hazelnut chocolate croissants. I couldn’t resist them. Whatever is going on with my taste buds has not affected the sweet ones. I was good though and bought a lot of fresh fruit (watermelon that tastes like watermelon, cantelope that tastes like cantelope, blueberries, and even some plums. I do try to eat well dietetically, but it’s really hard when you don’t have the appetite for most foods. For example, it’ll be a long time before I order prime rib again and not because of the price.
By the way, the sound bar I added to the tv does work marginally better. The sound is of a better quality than the tv speakers. However, I’m not sure anything will help elucidate Scottish dialect.
Stay tuned!