In the Hospital: Days -7 and -6

DAY -7 Thursday, December 15

I was admitted to Presbytarian St. Lukes (P/SL) on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 10 am and was given a room on the 3rd floor Oncology unit, BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) South wing. The Stem Cell Transplant itself is considered Day 0 and is scheduled for December 22. The high dose chemo that proceeds the Stem Cell Transplant started Thursday, Dec 15 and that is on Day -7.

So it was two days ago on Day -7 that I started the high dose chemo which is a chemo regimen called BEAM. That afternoon beginning at 3 pm I received a 2 hour infusion of BCNU (the B in BEAM). At the end of the two hours I felt like I had run out of gas, hit a brick wall and suffered a mild headache that evening. It really wasn't too terrible and it was gone by the next day.

The rooms on the BMT South floor all have an ethernet hookup and I was able to plug in my laptop and I was immediately on line. Between streaming audio from New York radio stations, using SKYPE for VOiP phone calls, a VPN connection to the CBS station in Denver, downloading Podcast, and not to mention the usual email and Internet usage, I figure the hospital bandwidth police are gonna come and get me some day but so far no problems.

It's been very gratifying so far that with the laptop hookup and my feeling generally fine, I've been able to do work for my clients while in the hospital.

Linda spent the day with me in the hospital and she has been tremondous support in both keeping me company and by communicating with the hospital staff. The nursing staff has been terrific on this visit and on my previous visits and I can't overstate how impressed I am with the Nurses here and with the Nursing profession in general.

The High Dose Chemo I am receiving is:

B = BCNU aka Carmustine which a DNA altering drug
E = Etoposide aka VP-16 or VePesid which is a DNA Repair Enzyme Inhibitor
A = Ara-C aka Cytarabine or Cytostar which is an Antimetabolite
M = Melphalan aka Alkeran which is another DNA altering drug

From the Lympoma Research Foundation web site:

DNA-Altering Drugs: These drugs change DNA, the building blocks of genes, to prevent cell growth

From Wikipedia:

An antimetabolite is a chemical with a similar structure to a substance (a metabolite) required for normal biochemical reactions, yet different enough to interfere with the normal functions of cells, including cell division.

DAY -6: Friday, December 16, 2005

On Day -6 I was administed Ara-C for 1 hour at 9 am and Etoposide for 1 hour at 10 am. This was repeated in the evening at 9 pm and 10 pm. The Ara-C and Etoposide will be administered every day morning and evening from DAY -6 through DAY -3. On DAY -2 I will receive the Melphalan and DAY -1 is a day of rest before DAY 0 and the transplant of my Stem Cells.

So far I am feeling just fine and am told I probably won't feel rotten until sometime around DAY +3 (it figures that this will be the first day of Chanukah and Christmas Day) for as few as four days and as many as 7 or more days. Or I might be one of the lucky few who sail through without too much discomfort.

They tell me that the more active I am the better I will do, so I walk the oncology wing halls three or four times per day to get exercise. I met with a physical therapist who showed me the little gym on the oncology floor with a treadmill, a couple of bicycles and those big balls that you perch on and do various exercises and I'll try to use that gym as much as possible. The problem is you need to be accompanied by a physical therapist or a nurse and I am not sure how easy it will be to arrange that on a daily basis.

Linda and I joined NetFlix and have something like 17 DVD's on queue. We received the first three:

1. War of the Worlds (Steven Speilberg/Tom Cruise version)
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (highly recommended by my friend Isabelle Wong)
3. Hotel Rwanda

But we have a problem in my hospital with the TV and DVD player -- low audio, adequate for TV watching but inadequate for the DVD player. I hope to get that fixed today.

I also received a visit from my friend and colleague Nima who brought me a box of chocolates and we worked on a project for KCNC, the CBS station in Denver. It was good to see her.

Linda arrived late afternoon with newspapers, file folders, and additional clothing. We spent the evening together and instead of watching War of the Worlds we walked laps around the halls and chatted with the nurses.

That's about it for now -- I'll plan to do my next post in two days. It's been great getting email from many of you who I've told about this Blog -- keep 'em coming or feel free to use the comments option available with each Blog post.