Mild Chemotherapy Problems

Since Steve's gamma knife procedure, he's been doing very well. He did not miss any work. He has had no significant headaches or visual deficits or trouble thinking or driving. All in all, it was a much easier procedure than any conventional surgery.The only problem is Terry says they are experiencing a bit of an emotional roller coaster knowing the the tumor is still there and knowing they have to be patient for it to be gone. The results now aren't as clear cut Steve's original surgical procedure when, immediately afterwards, they knew the whole visible tumor was gone and they could relax about it's existence.


Steve is having some trouble from his chemotherapy. He learned from his visit with Dr. Hu last week that his blood platelets were too low. It is not unexpected because the chemotherapy causes it and Steve's chemo is at the highest dose it's ever been. Dr. Hu wanted Steve to wait before taking his next round of chemo. He needs to get his platelet level above 100,000 before he can continue. For those that know about blood lab values, here are Steve's numbers, first from a couple of weeks ago, before the chemo really hit his system, then the low week one:

4/18/14 WBC 4.8 RBC 4.9 hemoglobin 15.8, hematocrit 44.9 platelets, 108,000 (pretty low), creatinine 1.2 (highish, but not as bad as it used to be), BUN 22 (high)
4/25/14 WBC 5.0, RBC 4.74, hemoglobin 15.3, hematocrit 44.2, platelets 90,000, (too Low) , creatinine 1.2, BUN 17.
So, Dr. Hu scheduled more frequent blood tests while they wait for Steve's platelets to rise. Steve gave blood again on Wednesday night, after work 4/30/14 and his platelets improved to 97,000. Still too low to start chemotherapy, so Steve gets to give blood again on Monday. By the way, he has no symptoms from the low platelets, but he could (from the Mayo clinic website):

If for any reason your blood platelet count falls below normal, the condition is called thrombocytopenia. Normally, you have anywhere from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of circulating blood. Because each platelet lives only about 10 days, your body continually renews your platelet supply by producing new platelets in your bone marrow.

Dangerous internal bleeding can occur when your platelet count falls below 10,000 platelets per microliter. Though rare, severe thrombocytopenia can cause bleeding into the brain or intestines, which can be fatal.

So, we wait for Steve's body to make new platelets so he can resume chemotherapy to kill cancer cells in his head.

In the meantime, they are making plans for their summer family vacation. They hope to go to DisneyWorld :) Terry's temporary job was supposed to end after 8 weeks on Friday, but the company has asked her to stay an extra two weeks. She feels very busy working and taking care of the family.