Round #7

I went in yesterday and met with my oncologist. He said things were going well and that I was definitely responding to the chemo. This, of course, is good news.

It was a pretty uneventful round of chemo. My counts were a little low so they only gave me 75% of my normal dosage. Oddly enough, I -can- tell the difference. I don't feel as toxic as I have in the past.

Also, some of my normal side-effects aren't as prevalent as they usually are after chemo. The tingling in my fingers and toes isn't that bad, the metal taste in my mouth is only minor and I don't feel as fatigued.

I have one more round of chemo before my second colonscopy on August 3rd. I'm hoping that brings me some more good news.

I have to admit, since my diagnosis the majority of the news about how I'm responding and doing has been good. I hope it keeps up and I can be rid of this illness in a few more months.

CEA Counts

Before I left for the office this morning I received a call from my oncologist's office. The nurse wanted to tell me the results of my latest CEA count.

CEA counts are used to measure the progress of colon cancer patients especially. Normal for people without cancer is a count of 0-3. With cancer patients it can be as high as 100 or worse. My last count was 14.

But this morning when they called me, they told me that my count was at 2! Which is within the range of a person without cancer!

Of course, this doesn't mean I'm cured, but it's just another reassurance that the chemo is working.