Preparing for Round Two

This past Thursday, I met my oncologist for my post-chemo evaluation. She said the elevated white blood count is due to the daily Neupogen shots that I have been receiving, starting the day after my 5-FU pump was removed. There was no need to be alarmed as the Neupogen was doing it's job, but I probably didn't need any of the shots for my first round of chemo. Normally, Neupogen is given starting with the second round of chemo. She adjusted my Neupogen schedule from 10 shots over 10 days to 7 shots over 7 days for the next chemo round.

My doctor prescribed potassium pills to help my potassium level, which had dropped to 3.2 MMOL/L; standard range is 3.6-5.0 MMOL/L. If my potassium level drops too low (hypokalemia), I can become very weak. Also, your muscles, especially your heart, need potassium to function properly.

I mentioned to my oncologist how much pain the ulcer has been. She recommended taking the Prilosec 20 mg twice a day for the rest of my treatment. There is a possiblity that the ulcer was present even before treatment, but the chemo drugs and all the other pills that I took made the ulcer much worse. She cleared me for my second round of chemo, which will start this Thursday.