Adrienne actually started the trial on Friday and took additional doses on Saturday and Sunday following blood work. The drug can cause problems with platelets so daily labs are required for the first two weeks. Adrienne's platelets are falling faster than anyone else on the trial thus far. Only one person has had a serious drop but we expect that Adrienne's levels will be too low for treatment by Tuesday or Wednesday. Obviously, the goal is for her to take as much of the drug as possible so skipping doses is not what we want. Plus, bleeding is always a concern and Adrienne tends to bleed at higher platelet levels that most people.
Honestly, platelets were our last concern a week ago. Adrienne's have been extremely high for the last few years due to radiation to her spleen and resulting hyposplenia, which just means that her spleen doesn't work. You don't need a spleen to live so this hasn't been a big concern. The hyposplenia is also the reason why we haven't been extremely worried about the splenic tumors since they aren't preventing any functioning and she doesn't have pain. The lung is the major concern.
We'll just have to wait and see how things go this week. Otherwise, Adrienne is tolerating the drug well and feels pretty good, though a bit more tired than usual.
MONDAY AFTERNOON: Adrienne's platelets were unchanged today so she was able to take today's dose. Let's hope that they stay steady for the next 10 days so she can stay on schedule.
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Adrienne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1996 at age 9. She had multiple relapses, two bone marrow transplants, and a range of chemos and radiation therapies, and passed away on October 1, 2009. We are heartbroken.
Out with the Girls
About Adrienne
- Adrienne
- Adrienne was very much like others with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, the most common cancer in teens and young adults. What was unusual is that she had it for more than half her life and ultimately, it took her life. Hodgkin's is curable for about 80% people, but Adrienne was one of the 20% for whom a cure was elusive. She considered herself lucky since treatments had been there for her with each relapse but she ran out of treatment options and her body just couldn’t take any more. As she said, "Though I’ve now had cancer for most of my life, I no longer plan my life around it; instead, I try to plan cancer around my life." We hope you can take inspiration from her and how she lived her life.
1 comment:
I'm thinking of you Adrienne, and hoping things go smoothly for you and that your platelets rise.
XO
Kelly
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