Test Results

Port draw, 8:45 am. Dr appt. 10:30 am. Today I will get the results of the bone marrow biopsy and CT scan. I wait in the infusion center for over an hour while they work on another woman.

I listen to her chat about how she used to take such good care of her son and her four horses, and now her husband has to do it. I realize again how fortunate I am that I haven't a huge house full of young children and heavy work responsibilities that someone else has to take on. They finally are able to find a spot for her shot.

After the port draw (piece of cake) I get an unsweetened ice tea, listen to the player piano and wait for a half hour until my appointment time rolls around. I am eager to hear the results of all the chemo work. The doctor is more concerned with the upcoming Bexxar treatments, and worries that the allergist has not answered all the questions about the iodine.

She asks the nurse to check with the pharmacology doctor, and he admits he has no immediate answer. He has never encountered this problem before. It will require some investigation. Meanwhile, the doctor listens to my lungs and tells me that the nurse will instruct me about the treatment coming in October.

I also need a flu shot now because the Bexxar will again cause my immune system to bottom out for a few weeks - ow. She is wrapping things up and I ask about the test results.

"Oh, yes, of course. I meant to show you that for sure," she responded. She pulls it up on the computer. The lymph glands have SHRUNK to almost normal size, and the counts show almost no sign of the cancer. NORMAL range. YEAHHHH!!!!! Great progress.

Later, the nurse calls me at home with the pharmacologist's answer. His research shows that the IV dye is oil based and most people are allergic to the oil, not the iodine.

The allergist already told us that the shellfish allergy is not related because the allergies most people have are related to a protein in the shellfish. I should be able to tolerate the potassium iodide that I need to take to protect my thyroid (I have to take it for a few weeks), and I should be able to tolerate the radiation iodide also.

New light. It's still a bit shaky to trust that my allergies fall into the "most people" category. If not, they have ways of dealing with it. Sigh. Fortunately, the initial test dose is very weak. If anything goes awry, at least it won't be as difficult to fix. Two more weeks until the test dose. Pray hard.