Each round or “cycle” of chemo is a three-day affair. Day 1 wasn’t horrible, although it didn’t start all that well.
Except for sore bronchial tubes and lungs overnight from Day1, almost certainly from throwing up during that first infusion of Rituxan, Day 2 was uneventful. I felt nothing unusual during the Day 2 infusion of steroids, Fludarabine, and Cytoxin. In fact, on the way home, I was feeling so good I decided to go for a bike ride when I got home. It was a 6o-degree and sunny day and I didn’t want to waste it. There might not be many left this fall.
I rode six miles and felt good. The combination of cool air and exercise seemed to flush out my windpipes and they’ve been feeling good all day.
Today I started taking Acyclovir, an anti-viral intended to keep the shingles (Herpes Zoster, the lingering virus in anyone who has had chicken pox) at bay. I also started taking Bactrim tablets as a precaution against pneumonia, the ultimate threat for anyone with CLL and who further intentionally impairs his immune system with chemotherapy.
Then it was off to Day 3 of chemo infusions. Again, no problems. And there was one very amazing bit of news. A blood test prior to the infusion showed that the first two days of chemotherapy had cut my worrisome white blood cell count from 77,000 to 6,000---practically normal! And there is no doubt: A look in the mirror shows that the lymph nodes are shrinking. You can actually see it.
Now, that is good news, exciting news, even. But it must be tempered with the knowledge that there are more potential hurdles to pass. Among them: sharply plummeting neutrophil count. Neutrophils are a kind of white blood cell that does the immune system work. If the count gets too low---as it well could---then counter measures are taken. Then there is the possibility of what is called “tumor lysis,” which means the kidneys aren’t handling the heavy traffic of dead white blood cell counts. So---the road ahead is still a bumpy one. But then, I have always found dirt roads irrestistible.
Twenty-eight days until Round 2.