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John Snyder
Sorry I have been a little slow in sending an update. After bouncing around the hospital for a while, I had Easter and the mad dash for tax day. Tax day is enough to put me back in the hospital again, though I will resist.
I was finally released from my last hospital visit on April 2nd. My blood counts rose high enough to eliminate my neutropenic condition (low white blood count). My return to the Hospital on March 28th was caused by a drop of my white blood count to 30 (should be 7,000 to 10,000) causing a fever of 101 and my neutropenic condition. They conducted multiple blood tests to find the cause of the fever but nothing was discovered. I was on constant anti-biotics to fight / prevent infections until my release on April 2nd. I am on a strong anti-viral medication to suppress the shingles as well.
When I returned to the hospital on the 28th, I was having severe leg muscle problems that made it difficult to stand up or walk. I was reduced to using a walker for a couple of days to get from the bed to the bathroom. The hospital conducted an ultra sound and an MRI of my legs but found nothing. The muscles became so inflamed that they were sore to the touch. This condition went away without further intervention and I have been walking without difficulty since. Though I have to say, I need to get some exercise.
I was in the hospital for a total of 13 days for this round of treatment. Since my release on April 2nd, my white cells rose to a high of 6,000, while my platelets were up to 62,000. Unfortunately, my white count has dropped down to 1,900 as of Monday but my platelets have continued to rise to 102,000.
During my doctor’s appointment on the 9th, I inquired about the benefits verses risk of the last two treatments. It seems to me that if the PET scan found no cancer at the end of my 4th treatment, the last two treatments should have done significant damage to anything that was undetected by the PET Scan. Each treatment has life threatening risks associated with my immune system being down and the potential for uncontrolled bleeding from the low platelets. There is also the risk that the chemicals in the treatments could trigger other cancers due to the cellular disruption they cause. I am looking to understand the risks of cancer still existing compared to the risks and side effects of the remaining two treatments.
During the 9th visit, Dr. Needles said he wanted to see how the immune system recovered and he said it might be something to discuss if the immune system was slow to recover. When we met on Monday the 16th, he said that things were slowly recovering and that the low white count was not something to be alarmed, about at this point, since all of the other blood counts were rising or in stable places. He felt that the continued rise of the platelets was a clear indication that the bone marrow was functioning. He put off our next appointment for two weeks to await an improvement. During this visit, he said it may be time to stop the treatments and go into a maintenance program but we need to see the results from the next blood counts.
The conversation of what comes next has been delayed until the appointment on the 30th of April. It seems to me that it may make more sense to go into a maintenance program and conduct more frequent PET scans to watch for any return. In our discussion on the 9th, he didn’t believe a PET scan would be useful since the last one showed no active cancer cells, he would not expect another to show anything different. He did suggest on the 9th that he might pursue a bone marrow biopsy but then on the 16th he seemed to believe it might not be necessary since the platelet count is growing.
I am doing better, I am getting out to customers sites for part of the day and my digestive system is treating me better. An attempt to jog out of the path of a car in a parking lot yesterday was met with muscle unhappiness, but maybe they should get happy in the same pants they got mad….(old family saying). I want to start working my muscles more but it is not practical until I know I am not going back into the hospital. Hopefully soon I can get moving forward and back in the game.
Thank you all for the wonderful support and assistance. I am very grateful for all of the people who have been so caring and concerned; you have all made this an easier trip. I know there has been some challenging moments, but everyone has made it so much easier that I don’t feel it has been a terrible time. I have certainly met people and have received stories of those who have much bigger struggles. My situation often looks very easy in comparison, there is always something much worse out there and I do pray for those people. I put them on my daily mass intention list.
I will be a little more prompt to provide an update after the April 30th appointment as I am very hopeful that the next right choice will be to conclude the treatments and move forward.
John
D&L Amato
lindas...@yahoo.com
This is such good news. You have fought the good fight and with God's help,prayers, and your perserverence- you are coming back !
Awesome.
Continued prayers to you.
Linda
betty...@aol.com
Great news in time for your "49th" birthday on Saturday little bro!!
Keep smiling!
Love Carol
Todd Nault
Sent from my iPhone
