March 10, 2010 – A bit of advice…

Slept like a log last night.  My hospital vacation took a lot out of me.  Woke up still tired and in a blue mood.  The oral antibiotics I started after leaving the hospital were doing a number on my stomach, already compromised from the chemo.

Ann & I headed to Boston and Dana Farber to meet with the radiologist.  He gave us more details on the preparation for the treatments and walked us through the chronology of the seven weeks.

We returned to Worcester and had a quick late lunch.  Then, we went to an appointment at Dr. S.’s office (the Worcester oncologist.)  We met with his Physician’s Assistant.  They took blood to check my white blood cell levels (9.5 = excellent for today) and gave me a liter of fluids to hydrate me.  I feel good after hydration.  The PA consulted with Dr S. who was out of town.  He eliminated the oral antibiotics and just the thought of not taking them (and enduring their side effects for the next six days) gave me a real boost.  By tomorrow, my digestive system will be back to chemo normal.  I’m a much happier camper.  I really like the team at Dr. S.’s office.  They are friendly, warm, and more than competent clinicians.  It’s wonderful to have them around the corner.

Ok, now for my advice.  Without going into great detail, a member of the hospital’s medical staff, a Hospitologist, was assigned as lead doctor for my care.  She consulted an Infectious Diseases specialist, and we added Dr. S. as an oncologist consult.  We could not get Dr. S. changed to the primary due to hospital policy.  My body is not a conventional body while undergoing chemotherapy, especially my immune and digestive systems.  So here are my words of advice: if you need to go to the hospital due to a fever, be certain your oncologist is assigned as your lead and primary doctor.

Tomorrow, we see Dr. S.  He will take a sample of the lesion on my hip.  He thinks the lesion in conjunction with my low white blood cell count caused the infection.  It will be good to know.

I’m not returning email yet.  My focus on the coming days is to get stronger.  Next and final round of chemo starts March 18th.  I’m waiting for that luscious feeling of hunger for every food in sight.  My goal will be to get weight back on and ingest a lot of protein.  Such fun!

Love…

Richard