In the coming month, I have multiple bone biopsies, full-body PET scans, numerous blood tests and CT scans, and the various tests (pulmonary, cardiology) in preparation for heavy chemotherapy and whole body radiation therapy. While I am no stranger to chemotherapy, this will be a much higher dosage in combination with radiation as my oncology team tries to wipe out my cancer and immune system so I can receive a bone marrow transplant (BMT).
For the past year, I did several months of R-CHOP (also known as the Nordic Protocol) where I received heavy doses of chemotherapy via a mediport in my chest. Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisolone, and Cytarabine were all prescribed to me over 6 cycles from February 2018 through June 2018.
After 6 cycles of R-CHOP, I was found to be in remission after verification using two full-body PET scans. I opted for three years of Rituxan (Rituximab) therapy as my maintenance chemo rather than undergoing a bone marrow transplant (BMT) since I thought it would be easier and less traumatic for me and my family. Little did I know that my remission wouldn’t even last three months, with my cancer returning before the end of the third month.
So I was started on 560mg/day of Imbruvica followed by 440mg/day of Venclexta as my second-line of daily chemotherapy since my cancer was no longer responding to Rituximab. The Imbruvica had little effect on me, about as benign and well-tolerated as Rituximab.
Venclexta was far harder on my body, with many of the same side-effects as what I experienced with R-CHOP earlier. By January 2019, I would need to have my blood drawn every 3-4 days in order to monitor my white blood cells (WBC), platelets, and Neutrophils. Almost once a week, I would need to stop my daily Venclexta and start daily Zarxio (bone marrow stimulant) to allow my WBC, platelets, and neutrophils to recover for 2-3 days before resuming Venclexta again.
And now I’m preparing for the massive amounts of chemotherapy and radiation so that I can receive a bone marrow transplant via a Hickman catheter while I receive my chemo prior using my chest mediport. I’ll be staying at Johns Hopkins Baltimore with my wife for 2-3 months during the procedure and recovery.
Everything you see here with my recent activities in reading, technology, toys, and more are all preparation for my time ahead. These are all things I wanted to do to keep my mind off of the ordeal my wife and I are experiencing, and to stay mentally engaged while struggling to overcome this cancer.