Chemo Week

This past week, I started each day (after exercise and breakfast) with a visit to a local cancer center for chemotherapy. The current plan is a week of chemo, three weeks off, another week of chemo, another three weeks off, and then a biopsy to see what's going on. I'll need to monitor my blood counts, and I may need transfusions of platelets and/or red blood.

I had thought the point of the chemo was to create an oversupply of white blood cells on the rebound, making it easer for my immune system to overwhelm the remaining leukemia. My new understanding is that the point of the chemo is to attack the leukemia, because leukemic cells are more susceptible to the chemo than are other cells. So all fast-dividing cells will suffer, but the hope is that the leukemic cells suffer disproportionately more, making it easier for my immune system to overwhelm the remaining leukemia. Same goal, different mechanism.

The Infusion Suite is very nice. It is a large, airy room with lots of comfortable chairs and a friendly set of nurses. I picked a chair looking out the enormous window. There are other patients using the room, some for chemo and some for blood. There are also private rooms, if that is your preference.

The infusion itself takes a little over an hour — plastic bag, hung on a pole, with a line running from the bag and into me. Over the course of the week, the nurses spread out the "sticks" across both arms.

The side effects have been as advertised. I had an evening of productive nausea, and I have needed a couple of naps a day. I also have a non-itchy rash on my face, but that might be graft-vs-host disease. (Which would be good.) It's a good thing I am not looking for a date, because I'm sure there's not much demand for guys over 50 with bad skin who have trouble staying awake and might throw up on your shoes. Sorry ladies, I'm taken!

= = =

I got in some good workouts before the chemo started wearing me down.

Last weekend, I did the following jog walk sequence:

2 1 4 1 6 1 4 1 2
2

2 1 4 1 6 1 4 1 2

I passed the 5K mark at 40:40 (a PTPR), and I averaged 13:07/mile for the entire workout (jogging plus walking).

On Monday, before my first chemo visit, I did 8 3-minute jogs with 1-minute walk breaks. I averaged 12:34/mile for the workout. (Speed work!)

On Wednesday, after two days of chemo, I did two ladders:

1 1 2 1 3 1 4

2

1 1 2 1 3 1 4

12:12/mile average! 

On Friday, which would have been a jogging day, I walked. And I took Saturday off. And took a lot of naps. 

On Saturday morning, I stopped by Jan's office to pick up some papers. The elevator was out. No problem, I'll just walk up to the fourth floor. I have walked up those stairs many times, and sometimes even run them. (We don't have many hills here in Champaign.) This was the first time I had to stop partway up and catch my breath.

Today, Jan and I repeated Wednesday's workout, sort of. That is, we jogged and walked for the same time intervals, but we covered less ground than I did on Wednesday and averaged 13:33/mile for the workout. Thanks, chemo! I hope you're accomplishing something good in there, because you're interfering with my training.