Round 3 of EPOCH-C Begins

Today marks the last day of my 2nd cycle of EPOCH-C, and the beginning of the 3rd cycle. Things started off well. I dropped Isaiah off at pre-school and for the second day in a row he clung to me and screamed as I tried to leave. The good news is that he is doing great at school, although its hard to walk out of a room with your child screaming for your attention. After that I was able to put in a half day of work before heading off with Kate to my clinic appointment.

The appointment today was mostly uneventful. There weren't any new tests run to check on the status of the cancer in my body. I reported back that things went well and they decided to proceed with business as usual. Next time I'm in for my clinic appointment after this third cycle, they will put me through the PET Scan again. At that point I'm praying and expecting a clean PET that will tell me I am in remission. That would set me up perfectly for the transplant that is coming up.

Now it wasn't planned, but Kate, my parents, and I were able to talk with the transplant doctor today for a few minutes. He answered a few questions, and stated that he would state on the disability forms I need filled out that I would probably be out of work until January 2010. OUCHHHH. That hurts. Its a long time to consider not having anything to do but this medical business. He did say its possible that I could go back sooner, and I have every intention of doing so. Hopefully the recovery from the transplant will be smooth enough to allow me to do so.
Following the appointment Kate and my mom went home to pick Isaiah up from school while my dad stayed with me while I got admitted. After I was all checked in my dad and I went out to get a steak and a beer before starting my infusions. It was a good experience, because while I see my father often, it is infrequent that we get to enjoy a full meal one on one. That was a good time to have.

Now that I am in the hospital, I got a chance to speak with my roommate and his wife. He is a guy in his 60s who has T-cell lymphoma. Before receiving EPOCH-C, I was told by my doctors that I was only the 7th person with Lymphoma to receive this treatment. Pretty rare company. Turns out my roommate tonight is one of the other six. He is a good guy who is in here now because of an infection. He has already finished up his treatment and is thankfully in remission. He is full of praise for Campath and the doctors at NIH, which is great to hear from somebody with a similar treatment. So hopefully both of us continue to do well coming out of this treatment, and Campath can hopefully become a bonified option for Lymphoma patients.