Round 10

Yippee! Marc's counts were up in just two weeks. Fortunately, it seems that the reduction in Oxaliplatin made a difference for Marc's white count. Unfortunately, it didn't make a huge difference in his neuropathy. So, the Oxaliplatin was discontinued completely. Marc is thrilled with the prospect of having his next treatments two weeks apart. He should finish by the first part of Feb. and be able to return to work the first of March.

This is actually really good timing. Dr. B has taken a job as the head of a department in Vancouver B.C. I don't have the letter in front of me, but I'm thinking it is at a university. Marc will be able to finish his treatments without having to switch doctors in the middle. He will have a cat scan and see Dr. B after all of his chemo treatments are finished. Then, his new doctor will be in charge of monitoring his long term health which will include a cat scan every six months for five years. The mom of one of his martial arts students is an oncologist and Marc thinks he will switch to her for his longterm follow-up care.

Marc had a check-up at the anti-coag clinic on the hill today as well. They are pleased with his progress. When I asked if Marc can stop the anti-coag meds at the end of chemo, she said that is a question for his dr. Good to know. Sometimes it is hard to know which questions to ask and then to know who to ask.

It is a relief to be thinking of the final logistics to all of this. It's not a process that becomes easier with time. This morning there was a lady checking in for her first treatment. She was so nervous and said she hadn't slept well last night. I nearly cried for her and her husband as they start through this journey. We have learned to navigate the system, understand the language, and gotten to know the procedures, but there are so many variables that it is impossible to feel stable. It always feels that we are standing on shifting sand. Changes and complications come out of nowhere. For us family and friends provided the stability to make it through. Thank you. We'd surely be institutionalized by now without all of you.