Meeting with Adada

This morning, Morgan took the morning off work, and we went together to meet with the oncologist, Dr. Adada. I’m grateful to report that he seems wonderful. Calm, clear, and the kind of doctor who makes you feel like you’re in good hands, even when the conversation itself is not exactly light.

He walked us through the results of my bone marrow biopsy.

Apparently, healthy bone marrow for someone my age should be about half fat and half blood-making cells. Mine is currently about 80 percent cancer. As medical reviews go, that one landed somewhere in the “not ideal” category.

But the plan forward was clear, and that helped.

The next steps are fairly straightforward. On Sunday, I’ll get a CT scan of my spleen so they can measure its size and make sure it shrinks appropriately during treatment. On Monday, I have a chemo class. I guess this is where I learn all about the process?? After that, they’ll put in a port to make it easier to access my veins during treatment.

Then we begin.

The first round of chemo will be five days in a row. Dr. Adada said I likely won’t lose my hair, which I appreciate. He did say I’ll probably feel very tired. I asked about nausea, and he said they’ll have me on medications that should keep that mostly under control.

Between now and then, the assignment is simple. Do not get sick.

So I’m washing my hands like a madman and trying to see people outside whenever possible. If you see me waving from a suspiciously safe distance, that’s why.

After the initial five days of chemo, we’ll take a few weeks off to let my numbers recover. Then there will be a different type of chemo once a week for four weeks. The hope is that this combination will knock the cancer down hard enough that it doesn’t come back for decades.

Decades sounded like a pretty good word to hear today.

For now, while I’m still feeling well, I’m able to get some work done from home. I did make one thing very clear to Dr. Adada. My goal is to be back at work in time to speak at graduation.

Especially since Bracken is graduating this year.