Bone marrow update

Well, it looks like the first of three theoretically "perfect matches," for bone marrow donors has backed out. I got a call from Karen Duvell at Roswell yesterday, saying that repepeated attempts to contact the person have failed, and they have moved on to request contact with a second donor. See, what happens is people get their blood tested and sign up for the marrow list and fully intend to give. Years later, their situations may have changed, and for whatever reason they back out. Karen said you'll usually find out for certain at this point, when the transplant hospital requests another blood sample so they can confirm the test. Kind of a bummer, but at least there are two other optimal matches.
Otherwise I am feeling great. I head back to Roswell Wednesday for an L-asparaginase treatment on Monday and Saturday, and I have another apointment with the cardiologist on thursday to get a different medication for my wierd heart problem. The last meds had me breaking out in itchy hives. A little reasearch last night into the L-asparaginase proved interesting. Apparently, normal white blood cells produce this essential protein (don't ask me why it's essential, I don't know. The cancerous lymphoblasts (bad white blood cells) are unable to produce asparagine, and are forced to forage for extra protien floating through the bloodstream L-aspariginase divides these extra proteins into their baser elements and deprives and eventually kills the lymphoblasts, who can't make the protiens they need. Healthy white blood cells are generally unaffected, as they can make their own asparagine. This is a very elegant way of attacking the disease, I think.
Hope all of you are well.

Home again

Harumph. After a long day yesterday packing up groceries and clothes enough to last a month, DI and I made it back to Vestal last night. Actually we would have been home sooner, but we stopped for a late lunch at the Cortland Friendlys. A cup of broccoli and cheese soup and a quesadilla later, we decided to take the long way home down rte 13, over hill and dale and eventually to Maine, where we found 26 and made it back to Vestal.
After all this, it's OK in the end that they're letting me go home between treatments. Certainly it's nice to sleep in my own bed in my own house. I'll be heading back to Buffalo a week from Wednesday, and have appointments in the hospital for the three subsequent days, with another two weeks from Wednesday. Mom has volunteered to drive so long as we spend a night in Buffalo, which is reasonable. I'd drive back myself, but the Doctors say I'm not supposed to.
Got a letter today from Excellus Blue Cross, our insurance company, approving coverage for the bone marrow stem cell harvest and transplant. I'm not sure if this covers the search or just the actual harvesting and the transplant, or if it helps with some of the testing too. We will see. It was comforting teo receive in the mail, as until now we assumed it would be covered, but just didn't know for certain.
If you're intersted, you should check out the pictures of the apartment (and me!) posted below. They were taken by my best photographer...DI!!

Pictures!My Aparment and such

Forget so soon...

Well it's been all chemo all the time the last couple of days. Yesterday I had my first treatment in the outpatient clinic. Pretty uneventful. Arrived about 7 am, had the bloodwork, then after about an hour wait in the waiting room, the nurse called for me and I went into the infusion center. This place is huge! About the size of a high school cafeteria, and full of partitions and easy chairs, it is set up for handling a lot of patients at a time. Anyway, I recieved two different chemo medications and then at about 10 a.m. two "transport" thugs ferried me upstairs on a gurney to radiology. The lumbar puncture I had under the flouroscope was pretty painless this time, but there was a twist! They shot my spine up with chemo after taking spinal fluid out. The good news (though I'm sure its unrelated) is that I'm not having those terrible spinal headaches I had before. Much relieved!
Today was a little less busy--still had to get over to the clinic by late dawn, but I only had one chemo drug, plus a chemo eye drops I've been taking four times a day. But the fun had little to do with chemo today, while I was being evaluated by Nurse Practitioner linda, she asked if I was planning on going home after my final chemo treatment on friday, or if I would be staying in buffalo. I said I didn't know I had a choice. See, there are 10 days between friday, and my next chemo treatment a week from wednesday. Dr. Baer had INSISTED I stay in buffalo for the entire time I was having chemo...but it looks like that might change. I'll keep you posted, plans seem to change by the minute up here.

Back in Buffalo

Well Di and I are back in Buffalo tonight. We have successfully moved into the very nice apartment they have set aside for me at the Kevin Guest House. We stopped at the local wegmans...which isn't nearly as nice at the wegmans at home...for some cold goods that wouldn't keep in the back of Di's car and then moved all the stuff in. Di has already made quick work of organizing the kitchen. We are very tired and must get to bed early, as I have an appointment at the hospital at 7 a.m. Yikes!

Will post again tomorrow with updates from my (yay oh how exciting) day at Roswell Park tomorrow.

--Matt