Adrienne's platelets were 69 yesterday, just high enough to get chemo. All of her other counts were good. Most places require that the platelets be over 100 but her doctor said they would do it at 50. I always wondered why they just don't transfuse if platelets are low but I've since learned that low platelets are the first sign of bone marrow damage and they don't want to give chemo unless the marrow is healthy.
Needless to say, Adrienne isn't looking forward to any more chemo. She asks why she has to do this when others her age don't. There's no answer to that so all we can do is be there for her and encourage her. This gets tougher all the time, and no, it isn't fair.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Religion and Politics
These are two subjects I usually don't discuss because inevitably they result in arguments but this presidential election has my curiousity peaked. Politically, I would say I'm very moderate: fiscally conservative, socially liberal. Unfortunately, sometimes those views are at odds with each other. When we moved to Nevada last year, I registered as an independent voter because, frankly, I'm pretty disgusted with both parties. In California, that means you can't vote in the primary elections but I found out that that Nevada has a caucus where you just show up to vote, pretty cool.
The California primary was always in June so our votes didn't mean much. Plus, the candidate who won that state has always been known for a long time so they didn't visit California a lot despite its large electorate. This year, the presidential candidates are very interested in our little state because of the early caucus. Last night, we had the opportunity to see Barack Obama. We've never been to a campaign event like this and thought it would be interesting and we were not disappointed. Standing in line and waiting for 3 hours wasn't a lot of fun but being there and experiencing our system in action was exciting. I am still undecided in this race but I hope to attend more events like this with other candidates.
Adrienne is feeling good the last few days and is eating better. She was quite weak earlier in the week but her strength is returning. She had labs drawn yesterday and her platelets are quite low, 50,000. The doctor said he hasn't seen platelets that low with this protocol and is concerned that her bone marrow is "tenuous" given her prior treatments. She is supposed to get chemo on Friday but I think we'll check the platelets again here before going to California to make sure she can get her treatment.
The California primary was always in June so our votes didn't mean much. Plus, the candidate who won that state has always been known for a long time so they didn't visit California a lot despite its large electorate. This year, the presidential candidates are very interested in our little state because of the early caucus. Last night, we had the opportunity to see Barack Obama. We've never been to a campaign event like this and thought it would be interesting and we were not disappointed. Standing in line and waiting for 3 hours wasn't a lot of fun but being there and experiencing our system in action was exciting. I am still undecided in this race but I hope to attend more events like this with other candidates.
Adrienne is feeling good the last few days and is eating better. She was quite weak earlier in the week but her strength is returning. She had labs drawn yesterday and her platelets are quite low, 50,000. The doctor said he hasn't seen platelets that low with this protocol and is concerned that her bone marrow is "tenuous" given her prior treatments. She is supposed to get chemo on Friday but I think we'll check the platelets again here before going to California to make sure she can get her treatment.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Chemo Approved
We just got confirmation that the insurance company authorized Adrienne's chemo. At least that's one less thing to worry about. Adrienne has been very tired and her stomach pain started again today, but otherwise she feels well and is eating.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Chemo #2
Actually, I don't know how many chemo treatments Adrienne has had in the last 11 years but yesterday she got the second dose of the gemcitabine/oxaliplatin treatment. Early in the day, I was asked to meet with someone in patient financial services. It turns out that the insurance denied the oxaliplatin as nonstandard for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After lots of phone calls and a quick appeal, it appears that this has been resolved. In the meantime, I signed an IOU saying we would pay if the insurance wouldn't to the tune of $16,000 per treatment. We'll be a bit nervous until we get something in writing from the insurance company but I feel relatively confident that this will be paid. Adrienne's doctor said he almost had the insurance company doctor in tears about her options, plus he provided studies describing the effectiveness of this drug in lymphoma, which they requested. We've had to appeal a few things in the past but nothing this large.
Adrienne has not been feeling well at all since the infusion. We drove from City of Hope back to Nevada last night and she slept most of the time. She was having fevers from the gemcitabine last night but that seems better this morning and she ate a bit of breakfast. Prior to the treatment, she said she was feeling better than she had in months so we hope that this is a good omen that the treatment is working.
Adrienne has not been feeling well at all since the infusion. We drove from City of Hope back to Nevada last night and she slept most of the time. She was having fevers from the gemcitabine last night but that seems better this morning and she ate a bit of breakfast. Prior to the treatment, she said she was feeling better than she had in months so we hope that this is a good omen that the treatment is working.
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