Vince's Journey

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.