Getting Closer....

I had a blood test on Thursday and my INR was 2.6 so I got to stop taking the Lovenox shots!! Yay!  Now I am only taking the Neupogen.  Based on my blood test, the Neupogen is doing its job and I should be more than ready for the stem cell collection.  They actually said I could forgo the blood test on Monday and begin stem cell harvest on Monday after my PET scan.  I am hoping that they will get enough stem cells in one day but at least in only two.

Since my last chemo I hadn't been feeling as good.  I was a little more...just sickly feeling.  However, since I got to stop taking the Lovenox I have felt better.  I have no idea if there is really a connection but...at least I feel better know.  There is some bone pain and stiffness due to the Neupogen, but not too bad.

Thursday, my parents got here!  My dad is just staying a few days but he drove my mom up here so that she can stay and help us for quite a while probably.  She will be here taking care of the girls while I am in the hospital and then come help me in LA when I get out of the hospital.  At that time, my mother in law will come and help take of the girls.  I am so thankful that they are both willing and able to come help us out.  Now that the parents are here....it is getting more real...it is getting close.  Yikes!

Last chemo...

Well, today was the last chemo of the Gemzar and Navelbine that I will receive.  I never really thought that it would be bittersweet to end chemo but it really was.  I was hoping that my INR level would be high enough so that I could stop the Lovenox shots, but unfortunately it wasn't.  So, since I start my Neupogen injections tomorrow and still have to take my Lovenox, I will be getting 4 shots a day, 2 of each.  And my poor husband has to give them all to me since I'm a chicken.  :)  My stomach is running out of places to poke so he might have to use my thighs and upper arms.  I am getting my INR tested again on Thursday...please let it be high enough!! 
Yesterday my husband and I flew to LA to meet with the doctor and transplant coordinator.  It was a very long day.  We flew out at 8:30am and got to UCLA earlier than needed.  We just sat around waiting for the coordinator to meet with us.  Before she came over to meet with us she called and asked me if I would be able to squeeze in a PET scan while I was there.  I knew that I wouldn't have time with our return flight being at 5:30 so I called the airline to see how much they would charge to switch to a later flight.  When they said, "No charge" I went ahead and changed our flights to 7:45.  Later, after we had been talking with her for awhile we found out that I wouldn't be able to get the PET scan anyway because one of their machines was down...we changed our tickets for nothing.  I also found out that they won't be able to use my port for my high dose chemo/SCT.  They need something called a double lumen so I will have to have something temporary inserted for my stay there.  So that means....I didn't need this port! The Gemzar/Navelbine could have just gone in an IV, it gave me another scar and it most likely caused my blood clot...and I didn't even need it... :( Oh well...it's already done.

Shots, Shots....

I was thinking about all the shots I am going to be taking and it made me think of this audition....lol.

Transplant is a Go!....AHHH!

Well, I got the call....the transplant is approved!  My transplant coordinator gave me a tentative schedule which could change depending on how smoothly (or not) things go.  So, here it is...for now anyway.

Thursday, April 12th- Husband and I fly to LA to sign paperwork and meet with transplant doctor.
Friday, April 13th- Have my normal chemo at the VA.
Saturday, April 14th-Tuesday, April 24th-  Take Neupogen injections to increase white blood cells and stem cells.
Monday, April 23rd- Be in LA for blood test
Tuesday, April 24- possibly April 27-  Stem cell harvesting (hopefully they will get as many as they need sooner, but said to plan to stay until Friday)
Wednesday, May 2nd- Admitted into the hospital to begin high dose chemo with transplant.
Wednesday, May 23rd-  Hopefully released from the hospital but still have to stay in LA area
Wednesday, June 6th-  Hopefully allowed to return home (Alexa turns 2 on the 7th.  I hope I am home for her birthday.)

These are just estimates.  Some of it depends on how well my body recovers.  AHHH!!!  It is almost here!!

So...it is a clot...???

I spent Monday making phone calls to make sure that my doctors were aware of my ER visit...I didn't want to get looked over...I wanted to make sure someone was going to do something.  I left I message with my Las Vegas oncologist, then I even left a message for my UCLA oncologist and emailed my UCLA transplant coordinator.  My UCLA oncologist called me, I was amazed...and she let me know that her fear was that if the mass was putting pressure on the vein, then it was growing.  She said she had spoken to LV oncologist and he was looking into it.  And I sent her office a copy of the CT scan just in case.  Then my LV oncologist's office called to schedule my appointment for the morning of Wednesday the 4th.

Since my ER visit my body and emotions have been through many changes.  Over the weekend the swelling started moving into my neck and underarm area as well, creating some extra soreness and sensitive spots.  This of course freaked me out.  I wasn't sure if I should go back to the ER...I ended up just staying home and trying to rest it and still keep it elevated.  My arm is keeping a good color most of the time.  The veins in my chest and upper left arm are more visible.  It is still swollen and sore but doesn't seems to be bothering me quite as much.  Maybe I have just adjusted to it.

This morning I went to my appointment with the oncologist.  He said that he had the radiologist compare Friday's scan to my scan from October and that the mass in my chest had shrunk, not grown. (YAY!) He said the radiologist description on Friday didn't make much sense because if the mass was pressing on that vein, the Superior Vena Cava, my whole upper body would be swollen, not just one side.  He said looking at me, one swollen arm and the veins being more noticeable made him believe it was a clot.  He said that they could do a dye study to see how the blood was flowing but he wanted to start me on medication right away.  Then he sent me to see a surgeon that he consulted with.  The surgeon explained a little more to me about the blood flow, where my port is positioned, and where they think the clot is.  They think the clot is...kind of...behind my collarbone.  He said this is a difficult area to see with the ultrasound and even the CT scan.  He also told me he could move my port...no thanks, I don't want any more surgeries.  He told me things he could do and basically said he hopes he doesn't have to; that hopefully the problem will be solved.

So, now I have a blood clot and I am having to take two shots of Lovenox in my stomach everyday until my other medication, Coumadin, builds up in my system.  I have to go to a Coumadin clinic Friday to have my levels check in case they need to adjust them.  So...hopefully this will take away the clot and swelling. :)

Chemo then ER

Friday...was not a fun day, actually I'm still not having fun.  I went to chemo with some shoulder pain when I got home the pain seemed to have lessened, but my left arm felt a little tingly.  I got up to go to the bathroom and my arm suddenly felt so tight.  I looked at my arms next to each other and the left was swollen and discolored-- kind of purplish.  I kind of freaked out--had a little panic attack.  I called the nurse at the VA to see if she thought it was serious enough to go to ER, which she did.  I told my husband that he needed to take me and he was going to have to miss work and stay home with the girls.  I was trying to remain calm but I kept thinking, "I have a blood clot, please let them find it before I die."  I know...dramatic...but I'm sure you would have been scared too.  They took me back pretty quickly and did an ultrasound to check for clots, which they didn't find.  I was glad but then I wanted to know what was happening.  They sent me for a CT scan, and after waiting for quite awhile the doctor gave me the findings.  The doctor who read the scan said that the mass in my chest is pressing down on a vein or artery (I forgot which) which is causing the swelling in my arm.  He released me with pain killers, a sling, and told me to keep my arm elevated as much as possible.  I have been keeping my arm elevated, if not it quickly tightens with the swelling and becomes uncomfortable.  Now however my neck and area around my arm are also starting to swell and make me uncomfortable.  I'm afraid I might have to make another trip to the ER but I hope not.  I am trying to relax....