Chemotherapy Complete

                               

 This morning was my final dose of Fludarabine, and we are now about to venture into the next phase of this journey. The chemotherapy went fairly well, with the first 2 days being the worst due to nausea and then the combination of the anti nausea medication making me feel stoned, drowsey and lack of appetite. The dieticians have been working with me to help choose, palatable food from the menu and tailoring that also to my needs. Thankfully after the first day the doctors were able to tailor my anti nausea medication so that I was still able to function to some degree and this enabled me to walk around and get fresh air , which is really what makes me feel better and the nurses comment on my return on how much better I look.

 On day -2 we saw the doctors and was told that I could go out side for a while, as now my lymphocytes were starting to drop, so not to venture too far,. So after a massage, James and I went out into the hospital grounds and found ourselves heading towards the Safra family Lodge. I sat in the shade while James made lunch, we shared lunch then I thought it would be an idea to take a nap there for an hour. On our return at 4.30 we were met by the nurses to say that I was on 4 hrly vitals, and with some tongue and cheek and winking and towing the line, they still think I am a good patient.
That night I stayed in the hospital so I could receive my final dose of chemotherapy at 5 am, met with the Doctors who say everything is going according to plan, lymphocytes will continue to drop over the course of the day and to stay close by. I was lucky to get some acupuncture and then James and I went down to the recreation room to make some photo frames. It was nice to get out from the ward. We also enjoyed a stroll in the court yard, continuing to feel nauseous.
So tomorrow is day 0 and I will be hydrated overnight in preparation for my lymphocytes with the ant-MAGE-3. This will only take 30 mins . After that I will be given high doses of Aldesleukin every 8 hours as tolerated, perhaps up to 4 days and these will help the Ant-MAGE-3 cells stay in my body for as long as possible, in the hopes that they can fight the bad guys. Once this has been done I will be under close observation for side effects, signs of infection and monitoring the return of my imunity.