Vince's Journey

Its a big day tomorrow. With four treatments in the 'bag', we're going to have scans done to see how things are progressing. Following the first two treatments it appeared that the chemo and Rituxin were doing the job. Hopefully, there will be great improvement since the last scans were done on February 10. Based on the havoc the treatments have caused on my white blood counts, I would hope its doing the same type of number on the lymphoma cells. So please say a prayer tomorrow around 1:15 pm as I have the scans done at University Hospital.

I haven't been on the Neupogen shots this week. My white counts were at 8.6 on Monday so Dr. Leming said I could back off this week. I will have my blood checked on Friday just to see how things look, if they do drop I'm sure I'll be back on the Neupogen for the next week. I obviously want to make sure the counts are high enough to get my next treatment on April 10.

We 'celebrated' Julie's birthday yesterday. Now that volleyball and lacrosse seasons have started I think we'll be spending a lot of time in the gym and at the fields watching Judd and Aaron play. Last night Judd had a volleyball match so we were up at the school until about 9 PM. So, it really wasn't much of a celebration (although Moeller did win!) but given what we're currently going through we had decided to keep things fairly low-key, anyway.

Both teams are off to a great start. Aaron's team is 2-0 and Judd's team is 4-0, including winning a tournament in Columbus over the weekend. Aaron plays 'middie', Judd is a middle blocker. So if you need to track us down over the next 6-8 weeks, use the cell phone. We're probably at a field or gym somewhere watching the boys play.

That's all for now...I'll post the scan results as soon as I get the results...

On Monday I had treatment #4. My white counts were fine and the treatment went very smoothly. Following the treatment I had a quick visit with Dr. Leming and he said I'm do amazingly well, I appear to be very healthy. The next big step is we will have CT scans done in a couple weeks, prior to the next treatment. The last time I had scans they revealed that the lymphoma had been reduced by more than 50% and Dr. Leming was very encouraged by that. Hopefully there will be even better news with the next set of scans.

I'm back on the daily Neupogen shots. They seem to be doing the trick in boosting the white blood counts. The more treatments you get, the more it beats down your counts so I guess I can expect to get the shots fairly often until my treatments have been completed.

I actually had to cut my hair over the weekend...it was looking a little 'shaggy'. I think it will be awhile before all my hair comes back in but the hair I do have was sticking up so I had Julie give me a buzz with the #1 clipper. She did a pretty good job, maybe I've spent my last dollar at a barber shop!

Thanks to Steve Bruce for our 'phenomenal' dinner on Monday night; Mongolian beef, asparagus, rice and key lime pie bars...very tasty! He also brought us Milanos subs on Sunday night, an old Dayton favorite.

I think that covers everything for now. I'll be sure to keep you posted on the latest news. Peace and blessings to all!

Vince

What a difference 4 days (and 4 Neupogen shots) make. On Monday my white blood count was at 2.9; when I had my counts checked yesterday they were at 34.3! (The red counts and platelettes were fine.) So...I'm off the shots again and I should be able to get my fourth treatment on Monday. Dr. Leming said I could probably go out and 'sell a few white blood cells' over the weekend. I would guess I'll go back on the shots following the treatment, it appears that I've been responding fairly well to the Neupogen.

Hope you all have a great weekend...I'll write more on Tuesday!

Damn! Last week my white blood count was 29.0, this week the decimal point has moved...to 2.9. This means I'm back on the Neupogen shots and my next treatment will be delayed for a week. I have to admit I was pretty frustrated when I learned this news earlier today. The bright side is, if the treatments are still bringing down the white blood counts, it also continues to work on the bad cells as well. The Neupogen should boost the white cells over the next couple days and hopefully we'll get back on track next week.

I still feel fine. The nurse told me the count is not alarmingly low, just low enough to not risk really bringing them down with a treatment. The difficult part of all this is just dealing with it mentally. I get geared up to move ahead and it's frustrating when you have to postpone things. So, we'll get the shots and try in again next Monday.

On the positive side, we're looking forward to watching Xavier and Ohio State play in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully they'll both get to play through the weekend. I really think XU can play with Gonzaga; they've struggled against some pretty mediocre teams down the stretch and that 18 game winning streak might have them playing a little tight. If the Muskies can stay out of foul trouble, they could pull one of the big shockers of the first. OSU should be able to handle Davidson but a match-up with Georgetown in the second round could be interesting; the Hoyas are one of three teams to beat Duke this season.

Thanks for the continued support and well wishes; it means a great deal to us. Hopefully, the next time I post I'll be able to report that the counts have gone back up...Go Muskies! Go Bucks!!

I went in yesterday to have my blood counts checked and learned that the Neupogen shots have been very effective. In fact, my white blood counts are now throught the ceiling! The range they like to see is between 3 to 10 (this obviously stands for a % of the blood but I'm not exactly sure what the ratio is). Yesterday, my white blood cell count was at 29! The nurse and Dr. Leming told me there was no need to be worried but obviously, I won't need to take Neupogen shots the rest of the week. As the nurse put it, "I don't think you need to worry about getting an infection over the next few days!" I should also be able to stay on track for my next treatment on March 13.

So the daily trips to the doctors office are over for the next week. It will be interesting to see what they do to boost the white blood cell count over the next cycle. The Neulasta seemed to wear off too soon and the Neupogen may be working a little too well. Maybe a week of shots is all we'll need, not two weeks. Time will tell!

Tonight is the kickoff for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Man and Woman of the Year fundraiser. Three years ago I was the Man of the Year for Cincinnati, two years ago our friend, Marshall Esler, was the Man of the Year for Dayton and last year, Julie's sister, Jeanne Bruce, was the Woman of the Year for Cincinnati. This year we'll be backing two candidates; Chris Hodge for Man of the Year and Diane Faigle for Woman of the Year. Thanks to Chris and Diane for stepping up to this challenge; hopefully they'll both be up on the billboard this summer as the 2006 Man and Woman of the Year in Cincinnati! I'll keep you posted on their progress.

After a week of getting daily shots of Neupogen to boost my white blood counts, my blood was checked and the counts are where they need to be. Since the first seven to fourteen days following a treatment are when you're most vulnerable to low blood counts, Dr. Leming wants me to continue getting daily shots at least through Monday, March 6. At that time they'll check my blood and determine whether I'll need to continue on the Neupogen through the rest of the cycle. I'm scheduled to get my next treatment on Monday, March 13. Depending on the counts, the treatment could be pushed back to March 20 or 21. Dr. Leming wants to make sure that when I do get my next treatment I can tolerate a 100% cycle. He said there is no big deal if the treatment is delayed a week.

He said they will probably have scans done following the next treatment. I guess they like to look at how things are progressing every two treatments.

Other than that, there's nothing new to report. I feel like I'm in the 'Dog Days' of these treatments. They've been going on since the middle of December and the reality is we're at best, half-way through. Right now I'm feeling OK but obviously not close to 100%. There are little aches and pains that I'm dealing with but they're tolerable. I still haven't missed a day of work other than treatment days and I continue to run 3 or 4 days a week. Yesterday we ran 4 miles outside and I have to admit I'm feeling it today.

So the journey continues. Wishing you all a great weekend and we'll continue to keep you updated!