Ice Cream for Dinner
Tate’s numbers are (barely) high enough to resume treatment this week. Early tomorrow morning he is scheduled for a lumbar puncture, a bone marrow aspiration, intrathecal chemotherapy, two types of IV chemotherapy, and the three chemotherapy shots.
The results of the bone marrow aspiration are very important. Huge. The goal is “undetectable” cancer cells. If the biopsy reveals he is still producing blasts, he will have to have a bone marrow transplant consultation. The bone marrow will be sent to a special lab in Washington where it will be examined; I do not know how long it will take to get the results back.
I am trying not to do that thing I always do where I fall into a panic so big I can’t crawl out; a panic I spread via nervous text messages to my family and friends. Instead, I am having ice cream and our neighbor’s m&m brownies for dinner.
I will have an update of sorts and a healthy dinner tomorrow. Promise.
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We would start the conversation of a possible bone marrow transplant when it is determined that chemotherapy is ineffective. Not sure if an unfavorable bone marrow biopsy result tomorrow would mean chemo treatments are not working. If that should happen they may decide to continue the course of treatment, run another bone marrow biopsy after interim maintenance and reassess. I don’t know for sure.
Comment
I’m not in a panic yet; going for that undetectable word in the bone marrow results. Can’t go wrong with brownies and ice cream.