It is official, we are in the last leg of this journey. Titus has less than a year left of treatment, it is a very weird feeling. May 2015 (or close to that) he will be done. This brings a sense of excitement, along with trepidation. I remember when he was diagnosed, the feeling of treatment taking an eternity, it has gone by quicker than I thought it would. He is 6, officially a first grader. He is smart, funny, brave, adorable. He doesn't let much bother him. I am so proud to call him my son, so proud to be by his side and hope he understands one day how brave he has been, and continues to be.
He had a lumbar puncture and IV chemo infusion yesterday, he has this every 12 weeks. Looks like he will have about 4 more (not 100% sure) before the end of treatment. His counts were great. His hemoglobin is above 11, his platelets 140,000 (really good for him) and his ANC (absolute neutrophils, part of white blood cell count/immune system) was 2040 (needs to stay between 700-1500). He had the IV chemo infusion given, and then he was sedated and had the LP and chemo administered into the spinal space during it.
In April his counts bottomed out and he was put on a chemo hold for three weeks. His hemoglobin hung out around 6-7, his platelets were below 50,000, and ANC eventually bottomed out just under 300. Once his counts bounced back during the chemo hold, his home chemo was restarted at a lowered dose. He has been on that lowered dose for about 5 weeks now, and just had it raised a little bit yesterday. With his ANC being above 1500, we will be monitoring his counts and trying to get the chemo to the right dosage again to get his ANC in the desired range. The goal is to keep his immune system suppressed, this is how they measure how well the chemo is working.
He is tired and grumpy today, thanks to the IV chemo and the steroid pulse he is on (that partners with the IV chemo). Thankful that the steroids are only for 5 days. We go back the beginning of July for labs - hoping we have a uneventful three weeks until then!
