September Update

The lack of updating the journal is a good thing, since it means there aren't any new issues to share with everybody. Things are going really well lately, and its hard to complain. This is my fourth week back at work, and things are going very well. I was definitely not this healthy or energetic last spring when I returned to work before the summer break. I currently have as much energy as I've had since at least before the transplant, and possibly going back to before starting this cancer mess.

The GVHD symptoms are fairly under control right now, although the mouth has not completely cleared up. It can still be uncomfortable to eat certain foods, but at least it isn't painful. I had an appointment with the GVHD team yesterday, and they were happy with the progress my skin is making. They want me to continue tapering my prednisone doses, and I'll now be taking it just once every other day. Reducing the prednisone to every other day is a good step in getting me off of the drug, because it can have a lot of long term side effects. However, I'll now have a greater chance of GVHD flareups on the tapered dose. Hopefully, my new immune system is working things out on its own a little better, and my body will handle the reduced prednisone levels.

So next week will be nine months since the transplant, which means I'll have re-staging according to the treatment protocol. On Wednesday I'll have a PET scan and bone marrow biopsy, so prayers for excellent test results will be appreciated!