Delayed Intensification – Day 1

Tate had an early Lumbar Puncture appointment this morning that started an hour late because the patient scheduled before him hadn’t arrived yet.  Just as the nurses decided to move Tate into the procedure room to do his LP, a mom holding a screaming toddler waked by.  We all agreed the angry baby needed to go first.         

Tate was very sleepy and a little cold when we arrived at the clinic this morning but in good spirits otherwise.  Lately he has been bringing a big stuffed turtle to his appointments.

Today’s Chemotherapy

Intrathecal Methotrexate:  injected into the spinal fluid while Tate is under general anesthesia.  Spinal fluid is also collected and sent to the lab to screen for blasts.  The doctors do not expect to find any cancer cells in his spinal fluid at this point, and no news is good news.

Vincristine:  administered through the port in his chest.  This is one of the drugs responsible for the nephropathy problems Tate has been fighting.  In the last phase, Tate received only a 25% dose, and in the previous phase it was eliminated completely.  This drug is very good at treating Leukemia, but the side effects have been terrible.  Tate’s cancer has been exceptionally difficult to treat: this drug cannot be excluded from his treatment protocol, but too much of it proved devastating to his overall health.  Tate’s doctor and the Tumor Board are comfortable increasing the dose to 50% in this phase, and it’s safe to assume we’re all going to be watching him very closely to see how his body tolerates it.

Doxorubicin:  administered through the port.   This drug is red colored and very dangerous if it comes into contact with skin.  It has a completely different effect in the blood, and its purpose is to slow or kill cancer cells.  This drug also turns bodily fluids such as urine, tears, and sweat red, and the nurses warned us to double up on rubber gloves to protect hands if we need to clean up any said fluids.

Dexamethasone:  a steroid taken in pill form twice daily for the next 7 days

Dwayne gets special treats on stressful days.  We send the pictures to Tate so he can see his pet living the good life; hopefully it makes him smile and gives him one less thing to worry about.

Tate was in a good mood all afternoon, but by early evening we could see the effects of chemotherapy beginning to drag him down.  I went into our room and found him sleeping peacefully next to the cat.

Tate’s nurse Michelle commented that she hopes DI isn’t so bad for him in comparison to everything he has gone through already.  It’s a possibility I hadn’t considered but find myself hoping for.  Tate is worried about what he will endure the next 63 days, but his resolve to get better is strong as ever.

S.