And Now Some Disturbing News

A few weeks ago I visited a doctor for the first time since Covid. I had come to totally distrust the health care system. As I was leaving the visit, I suggested a blood workup. She agreed.

A couple weeks ago she called me while I was on a job in Alabama. She was concerned about my blood counts and told me that if any health concern came up to head to an ER. She scheduled a followup a few weeks later.

I next went to Port Hope Ontario, and when I had dinner with the mechanical crew that had been there a couple weeks, they told me about the respiratory crud they were fighting.

Then I got it after a few days. Night sweats, woke up and couldn't talk.

I wrote to the crew (in their presence) that I was driving home to the ER. I did not want to be trapped in a Canadian hospital.

A six hour drive later, Scherie checked me into St Joes.

Covid.

But wait. There's more.

Another blood draw. Then a bone marrow biopsy.

Then the news.

Leukemia.

I was in the hospital for about a week, waiting for admission into a clinical trial that was offered.

It was decided to release me for the Holiday weekend.

I spoke to my oncologist Tuesday afternoon.

It was a good informative conversation and cleared up some misunderstandings.

I was of the impression that I was eligible for a clinical trial, where if I joined, I would get targeted chemo, if available for my particular leukemia, which by the way is a form of AML.

It turns out that I might have been placed in a group that did not get the targeted chemo, sort of like a control group. More on this in a minute.

Because of my age, I am not eligible for a bone marrow transplant. Or so they say. I am in generally good health.

BTW, For leukemia patients, a bone marrow transplant is the same as a stem cell transplant, so they are both out.

An aggressive chemo could kill all the cancer, but at my age, it could kill me. No thanks.

Back to the clinical trial.

If I went with the clinical trial and if I get standard chemo with the targeted chemo (remember, I'm not guaranteed that I'd be in the randomized group that actually got the targeted chemo) then the cancer might be killed.

But if not, the cancer would immunized against the targeted chemo, making any future use ineffective. And that heavy dose of chemo could be very debilitating.

So.

I will start standard chemo next week.

I will be isolated in a hospital room to protect me from infection since I'll have little immunity.

For about a month.

Hopefully it will knock the cancer back into remission. If I'm extremely blessed, I will be cured.

If the cancer comes back in the future, the targeted chemo (outpatient) will be waiting for it.

That's the optimistic assessment.

If you are the praying sort, I would appreciate it.