I NEVER HAVE TO DO A NEULASTA SHOT AGAIN.
Ok, I'll back up. Last week, I had a lot of chest pain, and is a big deal in the 'people with serious diseases' club. When I showed up to urgent care, they even let me skip all the lines. However, as soon as an EKG showed that I probably wasn't going to expire in their care, I had to languish in my tiny waiting area for five hours while they ran random tests, waited for test results, and generally tried to figure out why it looked like I was having heart failure, all without ever saying the words "heart failure." After the EKG, blood tests, a D-Daimer test (yea, I don't know what that is either), and a chest x-ray, the official response was "Well, we don't know, but we know it probably isn't any of the things we check for, so you can go home."
Obviously, I immediately headed to Blanca's where I got takeout and bemoaned the loss of a perfectly good Taco Tuesday.
The next morning, I got a phone call from my oncologist, who was able to resolve in five minutes what urgent care couldn't in five hours. Usually, chemo suppresses your immune system and kills your white blood cells, leaving you subject to infection. To prevent this, I've been getting Neulasta shots to stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. However, because my body refuses to lie down and take it, chemo hasn't been suppressing my immune system. So with the Neulasta, I had enough white blood cells floating around my body for ten people.
Remember when everything hurt, even my eyebrows? It's because I was having a "bone marrow flare," which can cause chest pain, sternum pain, shortness of breath, and all the symptoms that originally looked like they might be part of a heart problem.
So the upshot here is that I don't have to get Neulasta again, since I obviously don't need it. I'm ecstatic, both because Neulasta is horrible and because it costs six thousand dollars every time I get one. As someone lucky enough to have great insurance, I'm obviously not paying all of that, but even so... Let's just say that I am going to have some very strong opinions on healthcare after this is all over.
Anyway - 7th chemo tomorrow. The show is closing soon, people - get your tickets before they're gone!
Hi Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your blood is so strong. You had not updated in awhile and I was starting to worry about you. It amazes me how everyone seems to react differently to these drug coctails. Katie needed the Neulasta to bring her white count up and it did not cause her much discomfort. It kicked in once just in time to allow her to get on a plane. Maybe there is a market out there for your mega white cell producing marrow. So glad you are almost done. We will celebrate in Michigan too.
Thinking about you,
Katies Dad
Woo Hoo! The end is near! So thankful they figured out what was going on so you could avoid unnecessary time, pain and money! You are amazingly healthy, girl! I'm so thankful it's almost over! Missing you!
ReplyDeleteWell I am sure in your wildest imagination you never planned to be good at Chemo. But since you are.....I am proud of you!
ReplyDeleteYou have always been so mindful of your health that you deserved this bonus news that you are now a Neulasta free woman!
Thanks for all your explanations about procedures and for defining medical vocab words since it is not as if this kind of stuff is common knowlege. You've made it easy for we members of your fan club.
Heard you were feeling pretty exhausted from your most recent treatment. Guess it didn't help that you waited hours for your appointment. I suppose as good as Sloan is, there are just some appointments that can't run on schedule.
Do kids trick or treat in your apartment building? Never thought about it before but NYC would be the place to trick or treat very efficiently!
So glad that the Neulasta is no longer the Hasta
ReplyDeletelasta and is now the Lastalasta. Yes, we are related. Loving you well.