Prep Mode

 We are in full prep mode for the upcoming Stem Cell Transplant. It's a weird time.

SCT is no picnic. It's a port placed in your body; 5-6 days (I forget) of high-dose chemo and a total of about 3 weeks in the hospital, followed by an isolation period of recovery at home. 

On the other hand, SCT is an option because my scans showed No Evidence of Disease. And that's undeniably good news. 

So it's the same old choice: what do you focus on: the hard path ahead or the good news? 

Seems like an easy choice. But there's so much prep to deal with for the procedure that it's difficult not to tune into those details. The information binder is huge -- chapters of information. And living 50+ miles away from the hospital makes it more complicated. I'm scheduled right now to get my port placed on 11/21 and begin harvesting my stem cells on the 22nd, with admission to the hospital late on the 23rd. But I might need to harvest again on the 23rd, and we won'd know until late on the 22nd.  So complications, right. 

And because I'm going to be out of work for an extended time, I need to file paperwork for a leave of absence and set up accounts and all that crap. More complications. 

Doing a little work as Round 3
chemo finishes up

And there's a whole lot of appointments that I've got to do - lung, heart, blood work, final PET scan, etc. etc. that are being coordinated. And so, yes, more complications. 

We took care of all of that stuff late last week, but the taking care of made it hard not to focus on what lies ahead.

That said, let's remember this: I've got three out of four R-CHOP procedures in the bank. I've tolerated it well. I am in no pain. I have No Evidence of Disease. And after my last R-CHOP on October 11, I'll be looking at a potential period of about five good weeks before SCT.  And I'll be entering SCT in pretty good shape. 

True, instead of Thanksgiving Dinner, I'll be served up a dish of chemotherapy. But as my wise sister reminded me, "One Thanksgiving in the hospital for many more out of it." That's the attitude to take.