I wish I could say that I am halfway through chemo, but not yet (should finish with these cycles of chemo in October followed by maintenance chemo once a month). We are running hot n cold on getting chemo treatments. My fickle blood is not liking the Gemzar. My ANC (Absolute Neutraphil Count) is bouncing around from 400 to 7000. Normal range is 1500 to 7500. They won’t do chemo on me unless it is very close to 1000. The cycle of chemo follows a 21 day pattern. Day 1 of chemo is Carbo/Gemzar/Avastin and Day 8 is Gemzar and day 21 is off. (When I had frontline chemo in 2012, my biggest problem was the red blood cell count. I had two blood transfusions to counter that.)

Now the white blood cell count is the problem. The combat this, we use Neulasta one day after day 8 of chemo. I’ll do blood count again on Monday even though this is an off week. This time the blood count will tell me how careful I’ll have to be during the next two weeks of vacation. I’ve already been told to wear a mask on the airplane. I will be also watching for Neutropenic fevers. and carrying my own bottle of just-in-case antibiotics. I’m (not) looking forward to going through security at the airport all masked and carrying a large ziploc of all my meds. I’m sure folks will give me a wide berth at the airport. What I am really excited about is two weeks of just enjoying life. What are your vacation plans this summer? What memories will you make?