2nd Treatment Postponed until Dec 6

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Again sorry for the delay in getting a post out. Up front I want to say that things are going relatively well since my first treatment. I have had only minimal side effects which include tiredness in the late afternoon (although I think that everyone gets that) and one of my blood counts are lower due to the chemo (more on that in a minute). Overall I've maintained my weight, good appetite, and I have fairly good energy. I've even started taking Olivia out on walks in the early AM. It's good exercise for me since she is strapped to my body via a baby carrier (as seen on my picture). Carrying 7 to 8 kilos (approximately 17 pounds) for 3 kilometers is not bad of a workout.

On to the delay in chemo. This past Monday I was scheduled for my 2nd treatment, but it was cancelled due to one of my blood counts being too low. Before every chemo session my doctor orders blood to see how I am fairing. He checks out white blood count, red blood count, platelets and something called neutrophils. White blood cells are core to the immune system to fight off infection, red blood counts are directly related to oxygen being delivered throughout the body and platelets help with clotting. These three were fine. It is the neutrophils that are low. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell. These are the cells that show up first when there is an infection. Without them you cannot fight off an infection which can lead to a very serious situation.

One out of two hodgkins lymphoma patients who are on the ABVD drugs experience a reaction where the body can not produce enough neutrophils. Therefore patients need to inject themselves with medicine to compensate and ensure that there is an effective immune system
which is very similar to what diabetics do on a daily basis. Prior to chemo my counts were fine, so I expect that this will go back to normal after my treatment.

Next Monday I will be going for my second treatment. I'm anxious to get this rolling on a fortnightly basis so that I can anticipate when the treatment is over. There is a music festival coming up in late summer I want to attend. My next post will be over the weekend. It will be primarily on my upcoming 10 day retreat I'm going on next week right after my chemo treatment. More later on.