This past week has been a rough one. Nausea, which is the first thing we've been asked about, was not one of the side effects that my husband experienced. He had numerous other symptoms going on though. His main complaint was the pain in his knotty neck caused by this awful beast of a disease that invaded his body. We can't seem to find much to relieve his pain other than pain pills. He has tried ice packs, sleeping with pillows on the left side, right side, no pillows, sleeping in his recliner, and on and on and on. I finally brought out one of my all natural treatments, which gave him some relief. I put some Apple Cider Vinegar dilluted with a little water in a bowl and a small towel. I microwaved about 20 seconds then making sure towel wasn't too hot, wring out excess liquid (so it wouldn't run down his shirt) and put folded towel on his sore neck. I just held the towel on his neck until it cooled off, then dipped it in liquid again, wrung it out and repeated until either the water cooled off totally or my back started hurting from bending over. The warmth gave him some relief, but he wasn't crazy about the smell. (it dissipates eventually and smell goes away, or you can shower....that will take care of it!)
I did this a couple of times one day and the next day some of the swelling had gone down. So we can believe that it was the towel compress of ACV or the chemo is starting to kill the cancer knots in his neck. Who knows, but it doesn't hurt anything to do this.
ACV has always been a common item in my household. My daughters grew up taking it for all kinds of problems. It's an ancient folk remedy, touted to relieve just about any ailment you can think of. It can't be bad, it's made from apples and anyone that knows me very well has heard me one or twice spouting the old addage about an apple a day, keeping 'ol doc away. I have proven that numerous times over the last couple of years. When I was diagnosed with type II Diabetes, I started eating very healthy. One of my daily foods was a delicious Granny Smith apple, I'm not really crazy about the red or yellow sweet ones. After eating them everyday for awhile the good vitamins and nutrients built up in my system, and I never got sick with colds, flue, sinus problems etc... Before, I was always catching something from other people when they were sick.
My youngest daughter, when in school, always got sick and fluish around Valentines Day every year like clockwork for years and would miss at least one softball game and feel pretty horrible at other games around that time of year. Her senior year I made her eat an apple every day, she never got sick and never missed a game. I am a definite believer in apples and ACV.
L got his pump IV taken out and blood drawn on Tuesday. I asked him to bring me a copy of his lab report so I could compare it to the report prior to chemo. I know he was really happy about leaving that fanny pack pump behind!
He seemed to feel a lot better without it. The lab report that was run on him and he brought home was not exactly what I wanted.
It was not a CBC like I thought it was going to be, so I couldn't compare his WBC count to the last one.
CBC (Complete Blood Count) WBC (White Blood Count)
I also wanted this one :
White Blood Cell Count Differential (identifies different types of WBCs)
There are five different types of WBCs that the body uses to maintain a healthy state and to fight infections or other causes of injury.
They are :
neutrophils: Normally the most abundant type of white blood cell in healthy adults
lymphocytes: Leukocyte (white blood cell) that normally makes up about 25% of the total white blood cell count but can vary widely. Lymphocytes occur in two forms: B cells, which produce antibodies, and T cells, which recognize foreign substances and process them for removal.
basophils: Type of white blood cell (leukocyte), with coarse granules that stain blue when exposed to a basic dye. Basophils normally constitute 1% or less of the total white blood cell count but may increase or decrease in certain diseases.
eosinophils: Leukocyte (white blood cell) with granules that are stained by the dye, eosin. Eosinophils, normally about 1-3% of the total white blood cell count, are believed to function in allergic responses and in resisting some infections.
monocytes: Leukocyte (white blood cell) that functions in the ingestion of bacteria and other foreign particles. Monocytes make up 5-10% of the total white blood cell count.
They are present in the blood at relatively stable percentages.
These numbers may temporarily shift higher or lower depending on what is going on in the body. For instance, an infection can stimulate a higher concentration of neutrophils (a "shift to the left") to fight off bacterial infection.
Neutrophil is the WBC that I was most interested in seeing. If this test goes lower than the normal range it should be, then I will need to change L's diet. I would have to be more careful with fruits and raw vegetables and a lot stricter with the foods that he was eating.
Hopefully it will be run the next time he goes in to see dr.
On Wednesday he was still feeling a lot better and went toL work. L had an appointment at 3:00 to get a shot that will boost his WBCs. It has to be given no sooner than 24 hours after chemo. Neulasta is the name of the drug in the shot.
Neulasta is a prescription medicine called a white cell booster that helps reduce the risk of infection (initially marked by fever) in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy that decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells. A sufficient white blood cell count may enable your doctors to administer chemotherapy according to their treatment schedule.
With the help of a white cell booster, you can help maintain a sufficient white blood cell count. Most doctors agree that sticking to the planned chemotherapy schedule may be the first step to success. Studies have proven the effectiveness of Neulasta® in helping to protect chemotherapy patients against infection due to a low white blood cell count.
An improvement in your white blood cell counts will show that Neulasta is doing its job.
Neulasta helps provide protection with just 1 injection per cycle of Chemo Therapy. It is given 24 hours after chemotherapy is administered. Neulasta is for people with some tumors—solid tumors and lymphomas, for example.
I was really hoping that this shot would miraculously make him feel all better. I was wrong. One of the side effects of this drug is flue like symptoms. Thursday L stayed home feeling achy all over and pretty tired. I think the tiredness came from working the day before and is a normal chemo side effect. He had an upset stomach and diarrhea all day. He couldn't really get any rest because it was pretty much up and down to the bathroom the entire day. Kaopectate helped him a little, I guess what will really help is time.
Today, Friday, he has felt worse than any of the other days and is dealing with being lightheaded, fuzzy in the brain and now constipation. These damn drugs!!!!! I sure hope they are killing the hell out of the cancer cells!!
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