Dana Farber visit

Happy Friday folks..

Well yesterday’s visit to Boston was very interesting..
We discovered a simple path to the hospital.. which was real fast.. .and once we parked and got into Dana Farber (DF) we were actually a little early. So we hit the cafeteria and had some coffee .,..
The registration was the usual insurance information exchange and I did consent to a having any extra blood specimens be allowed to be used in research there at DF.
We then went to the doctor’s office and after vitals were taken actually saw the doctor at the appointment time of 3pm..
We met with a Dr. Fisher whom we liked right off the bat. He basically discussed my case and lymphomas in general. We did tell him that Cathy and I are both Med. Techs so he did not have to dumb it down too much. His discussions were right in line with what we are hearing.. and he feels that the stem cell transplant is an excellent move to possible cure.. He looked at the most recent PET scan (1/22) and said it looked “real good”.. so I’m thinking I may be in remission right now..

So we moved onto the specifics and here is how it’s looking as we move ahead..

- RICE round 3 will proceed in Albany.. This is on my calendar for next week Monday – Wednesday. (1/28-30).
- Rest 3 weeks
- Dr. Fisher wants a 4th round of RICE in Albany.. (target date 2/18 – 20)
- Rest 3 weeks..
- The dates on the next items are up in the air but I will need to go back to DF for prelim. testing.. Blood work, PFT, Echocardiogram .. but that might be just one day.. That schedule is being worked on..
- The next event would be to begin boosting the stem cell production. I believe these shots can be given in Albany and may begin mid March.
- Right now we are looking at the stem cell harvest to be the first week of April.. with the admission and transplant to occur the following week. That date looks to be getting booked..
- Hospital admission they tell me is 18-21 days.. I told them they have 2 weeks… ANC count of only 1500 is needed for D/C. I can do that is 12 days I told them… The nurses eye brows raised..
- Post follow up can be done in Albany.
- Doctor says I should be healthy for the Peter’s wedding in June..

We got loads of reading material.. and once I get home I will have some restrictions.. basically to become a Sheldon..

So that’s the info as I got it..