No Chemo This Week

For the first time, I was not able to have chemo this week due to low platelets, low white blood cell count, and a fever. I've been having flu symptoms and feeling crummy off and on since chemo on December 6th which included the Zometa (bone strengthener) infusion. Dr. Bergen says that Zometa can make you feel like you have the flu, but it usually passes after one day. It first came on last Thursday night (Dec. 7th) after the steroids that I got with chemo wore off. It improved some over the weekend, but it came back Tuesday night.

Dr. Bergen said it might be the flu so I'm taking an antibiotic. It could be a blood infection and blood was drawn to do a culture, but today after 48 hours, nothing had shown up. It could also be "tumor fever". I'm wondering if it could be the Zemota. I think I also let myself get dehydrated.

Yesterday, I spent all day in bed with chills, low-grade fever, headache, joint pain, nausea, dizzyness, chest pain, abdominal pain, mouth sores, and fatigue. Today, I am better, but I had swollen and sore joints this morning, mostly my fingers and knees. I didn't eat or drink much yesterday and today I weighed 4 pounds less today than on Wednesday. So I've been eating and drinking and I'm feeling better, but I still have some swelling in my joints.

I saw Dr. Oldroyd (the radiation oncologist) today. Both he and Dr. Bergen don't think I need to have the hip surgery. We'll do a scan in a few months to know how the radiation did, but mostly pain is to be my guide and that has been subsiding.

On the plus side, my tumor marker is down to 2963 (from 4164) and my liver enzymes continue to look mostly good.

I will close this post and work on getting some photos on this blog in other posts.

Thanks, as ever, everyone for your care and concern.

Just up here in Colorado drinking Gatorade, decaf tea, and lots of water. Don't forget to drink your fluids!

Sincerely, Caroline