On Monday the 19th of October I paid a visit to my oncologist, Dr. Howard Schlossberg. Before seeing him, I rolled up my sleeve to have more blood drawn, and marveled at two things: (1) the amazing "instant blood test machine," that looks like a slightly enlarged laser printer (put the blood vial in, press the button, and--pow---instant count of white blood cells, red blood cells, and even the kind of white blood cells) and (2) that the highly trained, competent nurses and technicians who draw blood, feed the machine, and even administer the chemo treatments sometimes feel compelled to take second jobs in order to pay their bills. Somehow, that does not seem right.
Enough of that.
Anyway, the results of the blood test are remarkable, although hinting of issues to come. My white blood cell count, which had gone from 6,000 (approx.) before this CLL became an issue, and had begun doubling to 16K to 32K to 69K to 77K. has now plummeted back to 4.1K.
Hey, that sounds pretty darned good. In coarse terms, it means I have less pus running through my blood. And my lymph nodes have shrunk remarkably. You can see it at a glance. And I feel so much more zip, more vitality. Maybe even starting to sleep better.
But---here is that word again---there are several kinds of white blood cells. One is called a neutrophil and the army of neutrophils in one's blood are the ones that fight infection. The new blood test shows my neutrophil level is now below "normal" ranges. That is a definite "uh-oh." It means vulnerability to everybody else's germs, and especially to pneumonia.
Taken together with the observation that a small "cold sore," more accurately called Herpes simplex, has emerged at the corner of my mouth, and maybe (not sharply clear) the increase in late afternoon pain in my back where I had a shingles (Herpes zoster--which almost all of us got as chicken pox as kids) outbreak in late 2007. I have been taking Acyclovir as a preventive measure for the two Herpes possibilities, but, hmmm, maybe inadequate.
There are no surprises in all this (except maybe the nurses taking waitress jobs). All of it was laid out as possibilities from the beginning.
No complaints; I am on the road to lasting remission. I just have to make sure I manage the process carefully.
