No Camp Chemo Today

I want to start by reassuring you, lest you feel disappointed for/with me, that this is all part of the treatment process. To have a delay in chemo is okay and often expected. For those who enjoy the specifics, my neutrophil level was .800 (must be 1.00 to proceed with chemo. Last week was 1.20).
I have been referencing my neutrophils for weeks, so you may already know that I would necessarily need to hold off on a week of chemo once they fell. This is the week that has happened, and while no doctor or medical professional has outright told me how amazing I am for having held off nearly six weeks without this happening, dear reader, I read between the lines (heh) and assume that is why-- I am amazing. It has been a great sign that I came into this experience with a healthy amount of white blood cell levels that withstood chemotherapy (and again, this is expected to happen no matter what) for quite awhile. I am a healthy sick person!
I have also mentioned that I was told that when this happens, it is time for the booster shot, so I was surprised yesterday when I got the call from Oncologist F.'s office to say that she would like to wait a week, do my labs, and see if I have rebounded. I suspect that they think a week off for me will indeed cause the neuts to bounce back. If not, I was told they may hold off again another week, rather than introducing the booster shot. Or, they might choose to proceed with chemo, but at a lower dosage. It depends on what Onc F. thinks is best at the time, and I have an office visit with her already on my schedule for next Thursday. For what it's worth, I stated that I would "not be keen" on delaying my treatment TWO weeks. The kind nurse on the line said something to the effect of: we aren't either, but we are also not keen on pumping you full of unnecessary drugs. FAIR.
So today I have the day off. How will I enjoy it?

I will drink all the coffee. (Actually just this one cup.)

I will enjoy this amazing cup of coffee. While I am not prohibited entirely from drinking delicious coffee (if you know me you know I love coffee, and I especially love a really good latte, particularly those you might find at Dogwood or Rustica in Minnesota), I am not supposed to drink it 48 hours before an infusion, the day of an infusion, and for 48 hours afterwards, which when you are receiving weekly infusions is pretty much the whole week. Also it dehydrates, and I have a pretty strong need to do the opposite at all times. 

Chemo Buddy Feature: Megan P.

This weekend my good friend Megan P. is here from Minnesota to be my Chemo Buddy, so I do feel some disappointment that she will miss the experience of sitting next to me during an infusion (aka my weekly Benadryl high-and-then-slump) and being bloated from the steroids and chemo. I am sure we will find plenty of other things to do, and that we will certainly get our fair share of cancer talk in; I am mostly excited to have her see where we are living, and to just catch up generally. The fact that we have massages scheduled for tomorrow is pretty fabulous as well. 

Megan and I have been friends since our undergraduate days at the University of Minnesota, Morris, which if you are not aware is aka the Harvard of the midwest, the "smart" school of the four U of MNs, etc. (you can punch me in the face later). It is a small public liberal art school in the middle of corn fields where you can oft find budding liberal activists. Megan is and always was a leader, and I got to know her from the Women's Resource Center (the women's activist group on campus). After college, we worked together for a while at an abortion clinic as peer educators, we worked on campaigns, and there were years where I was a de facto third roommate/couch crasher at Al's and her apartment in St. Paul. I repaid some of that debt by putting her up in D.C. when I lived here the first time. Together we have enjoyed countless dinners, wine, the Klituation dance party, and the highs and lows of our love lives and careers (we were together on election night 2004 AND 2016...). She is now the executive director of an amazing nonprofit called Gender Justice, and I need to get dressed now so I can pick her up from the Metro station. 💕

Update: Here she is, and we took a really nice fall walk today!