1st Meeting with the Stem Cell Team

It has been a few days since I updated my journal. I had a wonderful week-end after the positive news on Friday. Friday night my friend Josie brought over supper from the Vines Restaurant & then we had a fire with my next doors neighbors Andrea & Sue.... it was so relaxing & fun! A great way to celebrate!!






The week-end weather was fabulous here....finally....so I spent lots of time outside...walking the dogs at the beach, reading....& I even had the pressure washer out on Sunday cleaning off lawn furniture & a big boulder in the front yard. I was a little sore the next couple days....however it was worth it! It was good to feel productive again.

On Sunday my good friend Tina from Calgary came to visit for a couple days & we had very nice time. Lots of time to chat & get caught up on so many things. She is in Halifax until Sunday attending a National Conference for the Boys & Girls Club of Canada. We have known each other for 20 years (back in University days)....time sure flies. Anyway, she has been to Nova Scotia several times over the years and I always enjoy her company.



Yesterday, Tuesday was an exciting day....as the Landscapers showed up at the house at 6:45am. They worked all day yesterday until about 6pm. & will finish today. There were approximately 9 men working & two bobcats going all day long. For those of you who don't know....we moved into a new home last Thanksgiving Sunday!! I will put a photo of the finished results on a later posting. Maybe a before & after picture.

Also, yesterday was my first visit with my Stem Cell doctor and nurse. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, my doctor's name is Stephen Couban. My Stem Cell nurse coordinator is Joanne Edwards.
They will be in charge of my care from now until I finish with my transplant. Then, I will go back to Dr. Anderson (but also Dr. Couban will still be involved) & my regular nurse.

Mom & Coleen were with me and the meeting was a positive one. Dr. Couban was very pleased with my response to the first two high dose chemos'.....he used the word "excellent" which was very encouraging to me...because he is the kind of doctor who is straight forward & says it how it is. He also noted how healthy I looked after the treatments. I told him that I do feel healthy lately.
We talked about the next stage in my treatment. I don't have to go back to the hospital again until Monday, June 12th. Between now & then, Dr. Couban wants me to get stronger & also give my blood counts time to recover even more. On June 8th, the VON will come to my house to give me 2 high dose injections of G-CSF everyday until Sunday, June 11th. These injections will help my body make extra Stem Cells. The G-CSF is known to cause bone pain that can be treated with Tylenol. I have already received G-CSF injections in the past, after each of my 10 chemo treatments to help bring up my White Blood cells. I was fortunate not to have any bone pain then, however, these doses are around 4 times as strong as those previous doses....so it is more likely I might have some pain. But I am sure it will be nothing compared to the effects from chemo.....so I am sure I will handle it fine.
On Monday, June 12th, I have to be at the hospital by 7:30am. to provide a blood sample. The blood goes to a lab to be tested for something called CD34. This has to be present in my blood to proceed with collection that day. If everything is Ok, I will be hooked up to the Stem Cell Collection machine by about 9:30am....for 4-6 hours. This process of collecting my Stem Cells will take 1-5days.....depending on how many are in my blood.

After the collection process, I will meet with my doctor again to discuss the next stage. Most likely, my admission to hospital for the transplant will be roughly 3-4 weeks after the collection process, putting the start date to the 1st or 2nd week of July.

So that is all for now. Thank-you to all of you for your latest comment's and e-mails. It has also been great for me to hear from so many of you from my University of Calgary / Field Hockey days....those days bring back so many memories & were very special times.

All of your support is so comforting to me!!


Love Angie