Jiggity Jig

Home again, home again..   made it home to the frozen tundra of Whitefish on Wednesday, the 23rd.  It's time for some R & R.  Not the whiskey, but rest and relaxation.  Clancy doesn't feel as physically exhausted as when he returned from chemo in November.  That may be attributed to the time he spent on the treadmill in January trying to build up his endurance for this last go 'round.  However, he knows he still has lots of climbing before he's out of this hole.  He has trouble sleeping and overall feels lethargic.  Things don't smell or taste right.  At least the bizarre dreams have stopped waking him up.

He's survived the longest stretches of intensive chemo in the program and will be on maintenance chemo for the next 18 months.  The next trip to Salt Lake for tests will be in late April.  Clancy is grateful for your support throughout this ordeal.  It has been overwhelming and motivating for him to hear of all the folks pulling for his recovery; Hot Springs Savages, members of the MHP and public safety world, friends & family, friends of friends and even those dang Canadians.  Your daily support is something he will never take lightly.

Of course, Caregiver Extraordinaire Laura deserves a huge "thank you" for her contribution.  We even made it through transplant #2 in time for her to be home for her birthday! 

Again, thank you everyone.

Second Stem Cell a Success!

Sorry for the delay in posting.  It's been a difficult 10 days for The Patient.  The photo above was taken several days ago.  He's now losing hair again and at a low point physically.  Everyone said the second transplant is the worst and that proved to be the case.

The stem cells have grafted and he will get an update from the physician when they meet on the 22nd regarding the other lab results.  Clancy will likely be released to go home that day.  He plans to use the weekend to recuperate.  He still feels quite sick and miserable.

Transplant #2

The second stem cell transplant was completed on Tuesday, February 8th.  It was successful, but produced extreme nausea and some vomiting for Clancy.  He's been eating lots of jello, bland foods and drinking as much water as he can.  The combination of the stem cell preservative and the current chemotherapy really puts the body to the test.  The nausea is better managed today with medication.  He will continue to develop odd rashes and irritations. Today, his eyelids are bright red and tender.

His white cell count has begun to drop, so for the next week, he will have to stick close to home, eat well cooked foods and wear a mask if he leaves the apartment.  This is part of the acceptance process for the new stem cells and things are progressing as scheduled. 

Enjoy your weekend and try to stay warm and dry.

Chemo is Underway

Chemotherapy started again on Friday, February 4th with three IV infusions;  Carmustine (BiCNu), Velcade (Bortezomib) and Gemcitabine (Gemzar).  Clancy tolerated them quite well and is feeling good.  Not great, but better than OK.  The medical staff says he should start feeling a little worse by Sunday afternoon (just in time for kickoff). 

Monday he will repeat Velcade and Gemcitabine.  Melphalan will be added and he's finished with Carmustine.  Melphalan can produce bad mouth sores and he must eat ice chips constantly during the 90 minute infusion.  It's a worthwhile inconvenience to avoid the unpleasant side effects. 

He continues to take a steroid, Dexamethasone, that produces insomnia.  He's currently taking it for 4 days then is off for 3 days, just long enough to catch up on some zzz's.  Dex will be one of his maintenance drugs and will be with him for the next 18 months (4 of every twenty-one days).  That amounts to one bad week and two good ones.  There will be a way to manage it and life will go on splendidly.

Round Two to Begin

Isn't chemo supposed to make your hair fall out?  Either it didn't have that effect on Clancy or he borrowed one of Jill Valley's wigs.  Actually, his hair was starting to fill back in and today he got word he's scheduled to begin intense chemotherapy on Friday, the 4th.  He'll be bald again in no time.  Last Friday's CT scan showed no abnormalities in his lungs.  If the chemo goes well he will have his second stem cell transplant on the 8th.  The first transplant (Nov 2) went very well and hopes are this one will be similar.  The purpose of the second transplant is to get a longer term of remission.  Researchers are getting close to a cure for myeloma.  Let's get this into remission and cheer for a cure!