Drs. McDermott and Gorden stopped by today and let me in on my latest test results. For one thing, the cytogenetic testing of the sample from my first bone marrow biopsy finally came back. This was the test we were waiting on to get a full picture of what specific mutations were in my leukemia cells. In addition to monosomy 7, I also have a KRAS mutation. And that's it. The KRAS mutation apparently doesn't make a prognostic impact. Monosomy 7 is still the only important factor in terms of survival odds and such.
The other test they were talking about I didn't even realize they were doing. The pathologist was able to do some testing on the second bone marrow biopsy sample that specifically targeted currently dividing cells. There were 11 such cells, and they all had monosomy 7. They were all cancerous. So basically, the leukemia is definitely still there. And because they have such a clear sign that the leukemia is still there, I get to start another round of chemo right away.
The second round of chemo is going to be FLAG-IDA, which seems like an acronym with the names of the drugs involved, but I can't figure out exactly how it lines up. The drugs are Fludara, Cytarabine, and Idarubicin. I had Cytarabine and Idarubicin for the 7 + 3 induction chemo. This second round will add one more drug in, but the treatment will only go on for 5 days instead of 7. For the first three days I'll be getting all three drugs. The last two days I'll get two of them.
The good news is...only 5 days of chemo this time! That's like a work week. Or a holiday weekend that you decide to extend so you can drive out to the Grand Canyon. This will be like my own personal Grand Canyon.
The other good news is I'll get another picc line put in. And that means no more daily blood draws. They'll just take it from the picc.
The bad news is I can look forward to more swelling. And I'll be hooked up to Dimitry again. So time to break out the safety pins. And I won't able to eat much of anything. I might be sipping on chicken broth for five days, but at least I have all those spices Ben sent. Mmmmm....flavor.
The other test they were talking about I didn't even realize they were doing. The pathologist was able to do some testing on the second bone marrow biopsy sample that specifically targeted currently dividing cells. There were 11 such cells, and they all had monosomy 7. They were all cancerous. So basically, the leukemia is definitely still there. And because they have such a clear sign that the leukemia is still there, I get to start another round of chemo right away.
The second round of chemo is going to be FLAG-IDA, which seems like an acronym with the names of the drugs involved, but I can't figure out exactly how it lines up. The drugs are Fludara, Cytarabine, and Idarubicin. I had Cytarabine and Idarubicin for the 7 + 3 induction chemo. This second round will add one more drug in, but the treatment will only go on for 5 days instead of 7. For the first three days I'll be getting all three drugs. The last two days I'll get two of them.
The good news is...only 5 days of chemo this time! That's like a work week. Or a holiday weekend that you decide to extend so you can drive out to the Grand Canyon. This will be like my own personal Grand Canyon.
The other good news is I'll get another picc line put in. And that means no more daily blood draws. They'll just take it from the picc.
The bad news is I can look forward to more swelling. And I'll be hooked up to Dimitry again. So time to break out the safety pins. And I won't able to eat much of anything. I might be sipping on chicken broth for five days, but at least I have all those spices Ben sent. Mmmmm....flavor.
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| I'm a bunny |
Flava! You should get a groovy velcro outfit that is easy to get on and off without disconnecting Dimitry. Like those velcro track pants that can be whipped off one-handed with a single tug!
ReplyDeleteyes!
DeleteSara - Well I"m so sorry but I have just binge read most of your posts for the last two weeks!! I guess I need to subscribe so I can get the latest posts. (I promise I'll do it!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all the educational information - I 've never heard so many big words (I work with preschoolers! LOL!). I'm very impressed that you can spell everything and be able to explain what's going on in plain English. You are a true warrior in this battle leaving no term unexplained. I hope you are getting some relief from the terrible hemorrhoids and wishing you a week of powerful cancer fighting!