new roomates

We were expecting the blood cell counts to improve today but were a bit dissapointed to hear that there were still at zero. Fortunately it was the first day back from Easter/Anzac day and the Professor came to see her so she could ask him some questions and he could take a look at her

She asked him why is seems to be taking a bit longer for the white cells to recover. He did check to make sure the antidote for the methotrexate was working (which it was) and was surprised to see how sever her mouth sores still were but put this down to the fact that she had only just finished her last transplant last December so basically her body had not recovered fully from that and hence the longer recovery time this time round

The only other reason for a delay in recovery would be that there is a tumour in her bone marrow but this is unlikely (although not impossible). This will be another test if needed.

But overall he expects the blood cells to come up by themselves in their own time

She also asked why is it that this treatment cycle is so strong yet did not require a stem cell transplant like last time (the treatment last December did not feel as extreme as the current one). The response here was that the last chemo cycle specifically targeted the bone marrow (thereby killing it off) whereas this treatment, whilst stronger, did not kill off the bone marrow completely

He did mention that perhaps they can leave out the methotrexate from her next of chemo as it is only a preventative measure - this may mean one of the dreaded lumbar puncture would not be necessary

After the long weekend Shanean's ward is full again. The planned admissions have all come in. Ideally Shanean will be on her way out, but it looks like she will have the weekend still in hospital. The hospital needs a frequent flyers program.