Stem Cell Transplant Blog 25 days after Transplant Check-up Day!

Good News and Challenges!

Hello readers.

Well, last Tuesday Feb 22 was my Check-Up day at the Hospital where I got my Transplant. It was a long day. 6 1/2 hours at the Hospital and 5 1/2 hour drive! Man was I tired when I got back.

On a personal level it was a Fantastic day. Every time I go to the Hospital I don't really think about the appointment itself but "What can I do to either make people laugh or change their mind about Cancer"

I succeeded at both! First I asked my wife to draw a big smile with a tongue sticking out on my mask. Had to where one, might as well use it! Got lots of laughs and smiles from that. But still wanted to do more. And it came to me on it's own! After one hour sitting down in the waiting room, a gentleman sat right front of me. He stared at me for a while. I thought it was the mask but after a while he just blurted out to me "How long have you had this?" 8 years I replied. Then he rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. His second question was "What was your first prognosis?" 6 months to 1 year 1/2 I told him! He shook his head staring at the floor again. Then he told me that he had some kind of incurable form of Melanoma and they told him he had only 4 to 6 months to live a year ago. He had tried Chemo but it didn't work, so he went on a trial Protocol and...it worked. He told me that he was so sure he was going to die shortly that he took an early retirement but instead of a monthly paycheck he took a lump sum and almost spent it all...! I asked him to show me where he had his expiration date tattooed? He stared at the floor again saying he wasn't too proud of himself about that. To make a long story short, after talking with him for about 15 min. His name was called out, he stood up, shook my hand and thanked me for changing his mind about Cancer and said that he would make an appointment with his financial advisor to make at least a 3 year plan with what he has left.

Lesson to be learned her for all of you Cancer Fighters: Do not listen to Prognosis. You do not have an expiration date written anywhere! Keep Fighting with all you have.

I have a Twitter follower named Madison  Carlista who was diagnosed with Advanced Cervical Cancer with a Prognosis of 3 to 6 months..... That was 9 years ago! So, Never give up! And get a second opinion if you don't like what you hear!

So now, what about the rest of my Check-Up day:

Blood work results were pretty impressive according to the head Nurse and the Oncologist. The Check-Ups are suppose to be weekly for a few months after the transplant. But since everything (Almost) is OK with no nausea or diarrhea my next appointment is in 6 weeks! Whooohooo!

Now for the Challenge: Well my heart isn't doing so well for now! Blood pressure too low and heart rate way too high. Example: Blood pressure this morning 90 over 53! Heart rate at rest 105, Showering 147, getting dressed 125! So I was told to consult with a cardiologist ASAP. But here ASAP can take a while. I finally got an appointment whit a GP next week who will then refer me to a Cardiologist. Until then I was told not to even go for a walk outside. "I still do it anyway but not for very long and always accompanied" It's just to catch some Sun and see the River!

Low Blood pressure on the long run can affect all your organs from the lack of oxygen. Right now it's affecting my eye sight quite a bit. My prescription glasses don't work anymore and I'm constantly squinting so Even Blogging is an effort cause I can hardly see my screen!

But as I wrote, it's just another challenge for me. It's a problem so automatically there has to be a solution.

At least I'm at home and I don't have to go back to Montreal for 1 month and 1/2!

My next post will be about tips and tricks I found but for now that's all the energy I have and my eyes are killing me!

Thanks for reading.

Never give up and Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 18-19.....Travelling Back in time!

Hello again!

Traffic to the Blog has gone Wayyyy down. I feel like I'm letting people down for not posting everyday but I'm doing my best here ! Not going to give up!

Anyway, let's pretend that we go back in time again.

This is Feb 7 2011.

Finally figured out why the diarrhea is still there. Acyclovir! Found out that the most common side effects are Nausea and diarrhea...Duh! I finally convinced the Doctor (after 4 days trying) to give me Imodium to slow things down.

Besides that I slept most of the day. Didn't even watch TV or anything.

Numbers for that day....Neutrophils for sale:

WBC  7.54
Hgb    110
Platelets 39...rising!
Neutrophils....8.92 (Normal range 1.6 to 7.7)

Went to bed at 9 again and slept through the whole night!

The next day Feb 8 2011, I woke up telling myself " Why the heck I'm I still here"

So that was my first question for the Doctor that morning at 9AM.
Answer: "Well, we want to make sure you eat enough".............WHAT???
Are you kidding me I replied. You keep me here for that when everything here tastes like cardboard and expect me to eat enough. Well I put my foot down and said "I want to go home NOW!" My wife is a French Chef,  I'll eat much better at home.

The Doctor left with a strange look on his face! I was really pissed off (excuse my language).

Numbers for that day:

WBC  7.54.....Normal!
Hgb    110...a little low but not a problem!
Platelets 51.....still rising!
Neutrophils   6.09...back i the normal range!

The Doctor came back at 11 after consulting with the other oncologists and said right away: You are going home today! We just need to ween you off the TPN and one more bag of Acyclovir. That should only take about 2 hours. Yahoooooo!

Man was I happy. That was day 19 after admission! You can count this 3 ways as I see it. If I count it like the first time. That is from  my first dose of Melphalan ( did not get Palifermin on my first Transplant, just Melphalan the day I was admitted) so that would be day 15, just 4 days more then my first Transplant. If you count it like they do, it's Day+11 after Transplant! Pretty good!
We got home at 8:30PM. Haaaaa, the feeling was FANTASTIC.

Everything seems so long when your in the Hospital but once you're out of there it seems like it went by in the blink of an eye! Felt very grateful. I admit, I cried I was so happy.

That will be my post for today.

Tomorrow Feb 22 is my check up day in Montreal 2 1/2 hours away. Missed the last one because of a snow storm. |So  I'm not sure if I'll be Blogging or not. But my next Post will be on my first days at home and how we solved the Nausea and Diarrhea whit in 24 hours.

Thanks for reading.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 17.....Travelling Back in time!

Hi everyone!

I'm finally awake! lol

Man, I thought I was tired before, now I'm re-tired!!!

Anyway, let's move back in time and pretend that it's Feb 6 2011.

Wake up feeling like crap again and very tired. But cant wait to get my Blood Work results. Still feeling nauseous and have Diarrhea. Not much appetite but I eat fruit salads, yogurt and stuff like that. They decide to put me on TPN (total parenteral nutrition). See Wiki for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenteral_nutrition

I dont really like the idea! Why I was put on this is because I do not eat enough according to them. No kidding!!! Well  let me tell you that this is my 8th hospital stay in 8 different Hospitals and the food here is just truly AWFUL! It's all reheated stuff. And it's not just me. It's their no 1 complaint at this Hospital. The Hospital where I got my first transplant is just 1 mile away and I was told that the patients there eat an average of 30% more! No kidding!

Great news though, Guess what my Neutrophils  just 10 days after transplant are at? 6.23...Wow! 0.51 yesterday!

And to say I had a talk with a nurse 2 days ago about my numbers climbing already and she said it would go back down, it was just a twitch. But I did not believe her, I know my body. Numbers Jumped up just like my first Transplant. Yahoooo!

So, Blood counts:
WBC 7.29
Hgb  110
Platelets 31 ....a little low!
Neutrophils 6.23, Bingo!

I slept through most of that day. My only thoughts were: I wanna go Home....... ET go home!

Nothing much more happened that day. I knew I was on my way back and did it again. Felt Proud of myself!

Went to bed at 9.

Thanks for reading again.

Catch you tomorrow for day 18.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog, Back Home

Hello everyone.

Well, excuses, excuses, excuses! Sorry for not posting!

Reason, well I got back home Tuesday night. Didn't sleep too well. Too happy to be home I guess. So on Wednesday I rested and slept between meals....Man it's good to be Home.
Thursday was a FANTASTIC day spent with my 20 year old beautiful Daughter.
Here is a Pic:

She is my pride and Joy. But I over did it that day and ended up sleeping all day Friday and this morning too. Catching up on lost sleep from the Hospital I guess!

So now I am re reading my notes to get everything in order to Blog about the rest of the Hospital stay and I will have some tips and tricks to share soon.

Until then....Keep Fighting!

I'm going for a nap again! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog, Back Home

Hello Everyone.

This is just a quick post to let you know that I've been back home since Tuesday 8:30PM.

I not going to blog much more today as I have my 20 year old daughter who is coming to visit. I do not see her very often so I wont spend my time on the computer.

But please check back tomorrow for all the Juicy details from thew past 5 days.

Keep Fighting! I did and I won again!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 16

Wake up little Stem Cells...Wake up....I wanna go home!

Well today still feeling like crap but!!! Neutrophils are on the rise...Hiiiiiii Haaaaaaaa!

No need for platelets today . Still nauseous and very tired but the good news is Awesome.

Counts for today:

WBC  0.82
Hemoglobin 106
Platelets 38
Neutrophils........0.50!

I am also felling periods of lower back pain but that is a side effect from Neupogen. It's a good sign that it's doing it's job.

Besides that, the rest of the day I rest,rest,rest! Very important.

That's it for today. I know it's a short one but I'll catch up when the Brain end energy are a little better. Any day now!

I also have 237 emails in my inbox to take car of!

Thank you all for reading.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 13-14-15

Hello to you all.

First I'd like to apologies for not blogging for the past 3 days.
Wednesday, no Internet connection because of the snow storm.
Thursday, No Brain connection because numbers were so low. haha

And today, well I am receiving my first Platelet infusion of my life, I  just see it as another life experience. The bag of platelets to my surprise if the color of Mango juice.

Despite all of this. By this I mean all the nausea and diarrhea and tiredness. To my great joy I still make people laugh. I was told today that I was the funniest patient the Chaplin had ever met. By the  way  call him Charly..Chaplin!

Hopefully energy will be better tomorrow. As there are some subjects that I'd like to Blog about.

NEUTROPENIA:
No it's not a far away Planet. It's when your Neutrophils are at their lowest. Yesterday the were at 0.01!
So I'm Neutropenic.

Yesterdays numbers:
WBC 0.15
RBC 3.31
Hgb 111
Platelets 32
Neurophils 0.01

Today
WBC  0.21
RBC  3.41
Hgb  116
Platelets 21
Neutrophils 0.05

Moral still 200%.

That's all for today.  Peace and Prosperity to you all Neutrophillians!

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 12

Hello everyone.

Today I thought I'd write simply about my day so far.

Morning started at 5 AM with Blood Work
8:30 Vitals plus blood work results.
9:00 Meds + added Pentoloc for terrible heart burn. Seems to be doing it's job finally!
9:15 Breakfast
10:00 Nurse visit to see how I'm feeling. OK!
10:30 Meet with Cardiologist for irregular and high heart rate.
11:10 Meet with Docs to talk about Meds adjustments.
12:00 Meal......At least that's what they call it!!!!
13:20 Student Doctor Exam!
14:00 Shower!
And now on the Internet for the past hour.

Blood work results:

WBC 0.47
Hgb   122
Platelets  77
Neutrophils  0.40

As you can see numbers have come way down. Not much of an immune system left, so, extra careful not to catch anything. Numbers should start raising again any day now.

Besides that feeling OK. No more nausea but still diarrhea.

I heard from the Docs that they will put me on a cardiac holter Monitor for 24 hours just to check my heart out carefully. Not quite sure if that's today or tomorrow.

I do feel tired but with those numbers it's understandable.
This is my 12th day here so far. I was told my stay would probably be another 10 days approx. Sure can't wait to go home. I received my Cells 4 days ago. I'm Cheering them on the best I can!

That will be it for today. Going for a nap.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 11

Hello Everyone.

Sorry for not Blogging much yesterday. Just too tired. Feeling a little better today. I feel like a Lion in a cage in here. Can't Wait to go back home. I keep imagining myself in my living room next to the fireplace just "being there"! Just a little more patience....Ommmmmmmmm! haha!

Besides that, physically still a little nausea and diarrhea but allot less then 3 days ago. I go for my daily walk on the hospital floor with a Mask for protection of course. But I do it everyday. There is also a tiny bicycle. I do 15 min. every 2 days now. Exercise has been proven to accelerate recovery, so keep moving. Of course I don't always feel like it but I still push myself to do it.

Appetite is still not quite there yet. I do eat a little but not much for the last few days. Mostly Fruit salad, soups, porridge and Boost drinks to compensate. It's like I wrote before "The greatest diet in the world"!

I have to be grateful for my Wife who takes care of so many little details. Having a Picc Line makes it a little harder to shower. Having to wrap the upper left arm with plastic and tape so no water goes on the dressing for the Picc Line. So I have to leave my left arm up while showering just to be on the safe side. While still being hoocked up to Gertrude my dancing partner!

If you read this and are scheduled for a Hospital stay like me, bring a good deodorant soap because you end up smelling pretty weird with the Chemo and also from the Preservatives that your Stem Cells have been bathing in while frozen. As soon as you start receiving the cells you can actually taste it. I can't find a way to describe the taste or the smell. My wife says it smells like Artichokes!?! Ok...sure didn't taste like it! lol

So, here are the numbers for today:

WBC   2.71
Hgb    121
Platelets 108
Neutrophils 2.63

As you can see if you compare from day to day it's pretty much a roller coaster for now!

Well, I will try to eat something now!

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 10

Good afternoon to you all.

Well today I took a day off sort of. Just slept more then usual. Feeling tired. i was asked how long my hospital stay would be. I have no idea so far!

I took the time to shave my head off today, That way I won't end up with hair all over the place.

Here is the result:

Ya, I know I've looked better! Gotta go with the flow. Another temporary physical side effect! Doesn't bother me at all. I find it Funny!

Besides that not much new today. Blood work results show that the Neupogen is already working if you compare it to yesterday's results.

WBC  10.94

Hgb   120

Platelets 139

Neutrophils  10.82

I was told that Neutrophils should go back down though. We will see.

Catch you tomorrow.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 9

Happy Saturday to you all.

As promised I will share some pictures with you guys.

First of all, let me introduce to you Gertrude, My dancing partner for the next few weeks:

She beeps once in a while but besides that she is a sweetheart!
The next one is the nurse inspecting my Picc Line:

Picc Line looks fine so let's prepare the Melphalan Chemo:

You can see by the way the nurse dresses up with full face mask and all. That shows you how Toxic the Melphalan can be! I asked her if she was about to solder something?!? lol

Next, well it's me getting the Chemo...gotta keep smiling!

And the last one is just me Blogging:

Have to keep your mind Busy!

Besides that feeling not too bad. Still Nausea and a little diarrhea. Still have alot of heartburn though!

But this is all a question of time before it all gets back to normal. I guess that's why we are called "Patients".

Numbers for today:

WBC 3.08

Hgb  121

Platelets  168

Neutrophils 2.85

My Potassium levels were a little low yesterday and today too so I am getting Potassium supplements intravenously today.

Oh ya , Have you noticed the Award I received! Up left corner. Pretty proud of that!

Well that's it for now. Might Blog later.

Have a great weekend.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 8

Hello Friends.

Well, finally got my stem cells back. Very happy about that! Now they are warm and cosy at home!!!

The procedure went very well. Still a little nausea from the Chemo but not as bad as yesterday.
Now I just have to wait for the cells to migrate to the bone marrow and become whatever they need to be!

Blood counts for today:

WBC  3.54
Hgb   124
Platelets 183
Neutrophils 3.24

Slowly going down. Tomorrow I will start the Neupogen to help the Stem Cells .
Tomorrow I will also share some pictures my wife took while I was getting the Chemo.

That's it for now.

Keep Fighting

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 7

Hello everyone.

Well today was my "Day off" like they said. I've had better days off  believe me. The side effects of the Chemo kicked in last night. Nausea BIG Time.The next days will be the toughest ones but this is all temporary.  The Anti nausea meds make me very sleepy and drowsy. So the energy I had ordered today is Back Order. lol

Her are the Numbers from this morning blood work.

WBC  4.79
Hgb   126
Platelets  184
Neutrophils 4.16 (Higher then yesterday, weird!)

Tomorow is the big day. Should get my Stem cells around 10AM.

I will also get Allopurinol. It's a drug that helps eliminate faster all the dead cells killed by the chemo and lower the uric acid in my Blood. You will find more accurate info on this on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopurinol

Moral is still 200%. It's only my Body that is sick, not my Spirit!

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 6

Good evening Fighters

Well so far so good! Pretty much all the side effects from the Palifermin are gone.

Finally had my first good night sleep last night. Felt much better this morning. Had my second round of High Dose Melphalan at 11 am. Went very well again. Had a little nausea last night but that's it so far.

Blood counts are starting to lower quickly. So they moved me in an isolation room this afternoon.

WBC going down now at 4.72
Hemoglobin going down now at 132
Platelets also Now at 194
Neutrophils at 3.85

That was this morning. Numbers will most likely be much lower tomorrow. I'm happy the Melphalan is over with! Probably my last High dose Melphalan for this life! Appetite has decreased allot. Still have to eat though. Lots of protein rich meals to minimize muscle loss. Feeling physically tired tonight of course but that is normal. But the Moral is 200%! Today was a busy one again! Funny thing though. The toilet broke again in my old room! Glad to be out of there!

Thanks for reading.

With no Chemo tomorrow I should have more energy and time  to Blog.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 5

Good evening my friends.

 

Well, finally got the Internet connection solved! Total access!

 

So today I received my first round of Melphalan at 11 am. No side effects so far. Probably thanks to the Zofran (Anti Nausea Medicine).

 

I did have a nice conversation with the pharmacist yesterday or as they call him here “The Master of the Meds.” about the Pros and Cons of  Palifermin. The reason why, well personally I find that the side effects from this medication are worst then having sores in your mouth like I had during my first transplant.

 

To my surprise he agreed with me and himself was questioning the usefulness of this medication. This medication has only been around for less then 5 years and is still in it’s trial period. The average wholesale price of Palifermin is approximately $1700 per 6.25 mg vial dose. Pretty expensive stuff!

 

So conclusion. He cancelled the next 3 doses that I was suppose to get as I posted yesterday.

 

I’d rather suck on ice cubes during the Chemo and he also told me that this was very effective.

He suggested that I start this half an hour prior to the Chemo, During the Chemo and about 15 minutes after. So that’s what I did this morning. I have to admit that I was a little nervous prior to the Chemo but everything went very well.

 

Tomorrow same plan But Coumadin (Blood thinner) will be added the the chemo to prevent Blood cloths around the Picc Line.

 

Then Thursday I will be moved to the isolation room and start Acyclovir (Antiviral Drug) for prevention and also Zofran .

 

Friday my little baby cells will be given back to me. They have been frozen for 7 years, I bet they can’t wait to get out of that cold spell!

 

Saturday will be added Neupogen injections daily Neupogen is a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. In other words it stimulates the bone marrow to increase production of neutrophils.

 

The injections of  Neupogen will continue daily until the numbers start to climb up again.

 

I have to apologize for not answering my emails to all of you who have written to me. I’ll be catching up on this as soon as possible.

 

I have to thank LLS Canada (La Société de leucémie et lymphome du Canada) and Illumine La Nuit Quebec for posting on Facebook for me. Also thank you to Gabi Vermaak and Denis P. Muller.(Also Cancer Fighters) for Tweeting for me on Twitter for the past 5 days. Now I'm Back online!

 

Also thank you to CanSupport for the Free TV in my room and also for the Parking Pass so my Wonderful wife can visit daily. Greatly appreciated.  At $18 dollars a day I could not afford it.

 

Thank you little Angels!

 

So this will be my post for today. I’ll go and take care of some of those emails.

 

Keep Fighting!

 

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 4

Good evening everyone

Finally got the schedule for the coming week.

So today was a break from the Pelifermin.

Still had Blood work, vitals etc.

Tomorrow I will receive my first High dose Melphalan.

Then another dose on Wednesday.

Thursday I start the Antibiotics to prevent infections but no Chemo.

Then Friday is the day I get my Stem Cells back!!!

After that It’s again a waiting game. I will receive other medications but I will get the schedule for that tomorrow.

I still have not resolved the internet connection problems but I’m working on it.

I need to have it solved because once they move me to the isolation room I wont be able to have access to this computer.

Hopefully everything should be fixed by then. If not I wont be able to Blog so I HAVE to solve this!

That’s it for Tonight.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon or...Angelina Ugly!

Stem Cell Transplant Blog Day 3

 Good Sunday to you all.

Things are much quieter today. Yesterday was Rock and Roll enough.

So today so far, had blood work done at 5am only 2 vials this time. Later today I will receive my 3^rd dose of  Palifermin. Then on Monday I get a day off from it and then 3 more days of Palifermin. I will probably have a bunch of other tests to do this coming week but I will only know tomorrow what they are.

So far some common side effects are starting a little. Change in pigmentation of the skin. Like if you were out in the sun too long and also a little swelling of the lips.

In other words I look Like Angelina Jolie back from a vacation in Cuba. lol

I have a recommendation that came to me last night. If you really wish to prepare yourself for a Hospital stay, well if you are like me and are used to sleeping in a dark  cool quiet room. You might want to start getting used to sleeping with some noises and some lights at least one week before your Hospitalisation.

This will help you sleep better. Hospitals are noisy places and lots of little lights everywhere. Just a suggestion.

Sorry I couldn't write earlier, the computer was not available.

That’s it for now.

Thanks for reading.

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Day 2...Surprise!

Well, well, well...what a day.

Believe it or not, I'm back in the Family room. The toilet in my room gave out! They have to put a new one in completely. There is water all over so I'm in here for a couple of hours.

So...Be ready for anything! But stay Positive+++, Hey I'll have a Brand new Toilet! Whoooohoooo!

Have to leave the computer to someone else for now.

Have a great evening!

Keep Fighting!

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant day 2

Hello everyone.

I have some suggestions for you if you are ever admitted for a Transplant.

Do not take for granted everything they tell you over the phone!

Here is what I mean by that: I was told by phone that I had to be here before 11 AM....ended up waiting till 2 PM to have a room! Gave my list of Meds from the Pharmacy but for some reason everyone is in a hurry on a Friday afternoon! They mixed everything up! So (BRING YOUR MEDS!!!) just in case the same happens to you. You will have them at hand if this happens to you! Things aren't totally sorted out yet for me. Just met with the Nurse and the Weekend Doctor to sort it all out now waiting for the Pharmacy downstairs to prepare them but of course they too are short handed being the weekend!

My Picc Line was bleeding all night but has stopped now! That too was done in a hurry! But all fixed thanks to the wonderful nurse!

I was also told there was wireless Internet but...NOT! So I have to use the hospital computer still and it is not always available!

I was also told that the bottled water was included....NOT!

Don't get me wrong, I'm in a good mood and making the staff laugh and all but just wanted to let you know to keep an eye on everything. That is why we say "Knowledge is Power" Learn ALL you can about your Cancer and double check everything. When a Hospital is at 218% Capacity like here, errors can happen! Try to make friends with the Nurses and they will help you and keep an eye on you! Insist on getting all the info on what is happening or side effects of what they give you etc...!

Today, not much happening, Had a Chest x-ray last night around 6PM. Had Blood work done at 5:30 AM (14 vials this time).I Will receive another dose of PALIFERMIN late afternoon. I do not have any side effects form this so far!

If any of you wish to ask questions in French please find my email address in my Profile and send me an email. I will reply to the best of my knowledge as soon as I can. In French:  Ceux qui veules me poser des questions en Francais SVP allez dans mon profile et envoyez moi un couriel et je vais y repondre du mieux que je peut le plus tot possible. MERCI!

Wishing you all a great afternoon!

Keep Fighting

Yvon

Stem Cell Transplant Blog day 1

Hello again.

Well things are moving fast here. Already got my Picc Line installed and will get my first dose of PALIFERMIN It is indicated to decrease the incidence and duration of severe oral mucositis in patients with hematologic malignancies receiving myelotoxic therapy requiring hematopoietic stem cell support.

In other words, less "Cold Sores". It's basically to protect your mouth and throat from damage due to the High dose Melphalan that I will probably receive next week. I will receive 3 rounds of Palifermin 3 days in a row. Then 1 day rest and then the BIG Chemo.

I'm still Blogging from the Hospital's computer because the Tech is off for the weekend (of course) so I can't log on with my Laptop.

That will be my last post for today.

Enjoy your evening!

Keep Fighting

Yvon