I failed my blood test again today which means chemotherapy is once again postponed until next Friday (April 5th). My neutrophils (white blood cells) are still too low for chemotherapy and in fact are even lower than they were last week. To combat my neutropenia I will need to start receiving a week’s worth of daily Grastofil injections for each chemo cycle. This time I’m only getting five injections instead of seven due to the upcoming chemo treatment being only one week away (the injections must stop 48 hours before chemo begins). I had to pay out of pocket for the first batch of Grastofil (and could have bought two iPads for the same price) but it sounds like the Ontario Trillium Drug plan and the manufacturer of the drug are able to cover at least some of the cost going forward.
My doctor did have some positive news for me today. Apparently my blood tests have shown a significant decrease in my carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level. CEA is a protein that can be an indicator of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. My CEA level was 887.8 on Jan 23 and has dropped to 123.8 as of Mar 21. The doctor says this is really good and that if this continues we may be discussing the surgical removal of Tony when my chemotherapy treatments are complete. Praise the Lord! I have a CT scan booked for May 23, and hopefully these images show further evidence of healing.
Please continue to pray. My number one concern right now is my white blood cell count. I can’t get back on chemo until they climb back to a suitable level.
Thank God for this good news.