Will today be a chemo day?

So, to catch you up, I attempted to get chemo on Monday, but my ANC was too low (.3).  I received a Neupogen shot and then came back on Tuesday.  I had no side effects from the neupogen shot, but I seemed to feel a lot better on Tuesday.  Unfortunately though on Tuesday, I had to forego chemo treatment as my ANC crept up just a little bit (to .7).  Remember, it needs to be at least 1.5 for me to receive treatment.  I received another Neupogen shot yesterday and I am back today to find out whether I will be able to receive treatment.  I am guessing my numbers will be just fine today.  Actually, they may be off the charts based on how I am feeling.  My...bones....hurt...so...badly!   Around 8pm last night, I began having some hip pain.  It progressed until I was writhing in pain by 10pm last night.  When the bone barrow is kicked into high production mode from the Neupogen shot, it can cause some pretty severe pain.  And, I mean SEVERE pain!  Around 2:30am last night, after trying heating pads, hundreds of different sleep positions and even massage, I decided perhaps a hot bath would work.  Well, I felt so much better while in the tub.  I totally understand why women labor in the bathtub now!  But, as soon as I got out of the tub, the pain came right on back like a freight train.  So, I finally decided to take an Ibuprofen.  The only risk of taking Ibuprofen is that if your platelet count is too low, you can bleed out.  But, a low platelet count really hasn't been an issue for me.  Although, the other reason you don't want to take tylenol or ibuprofen regularly is because it can mask a fever.  Fever while on chemo is something that must be dealt with immediately, so I always need to know whether I have fever.   I think I am supposed to take my temperature daily.  But, I didn't worry about having a fever last night, since I was feeling ok from that perspective. So, based on my severe pain, I would say my bone marrow was in extremely HIGH gear trying to produce those white blood cells.  Based on how I feel, my ANC should be 4 at least!  :-)

While I was not sleeping last night though, I prayed a lot.  It was some good one on one time with my Lord.  I also palpated the cancer area.  I cannot believe how much the cancer mass has diminished!   I was shocked since it has been a while since I felt the area.  I was so excited that I had Drew feel and he even had trouble finding it at first. This is so awesome.  Ya'll--the area was HUGE and could easily be found before.  14 cm x 9cm x 7cm approximately!  Plus, I could feel numerous lymph nodes in the past which are now continually diminishing in size.  I am just so excited about this.  God is healing me.  Now, I just need to be able to finish up these treatments.   This is week 5 of Taxol.  After week 6, I will be halfway through all of my treatments with 6 weekly rounds of Taxol remaining and 6 weeks of AC remainining (two rounds, one every three weeks).

So, I am waiting here in my chair to figure out whether I will be able to receive treatment.