Killing all the bad cells and leaving all the good ones!!

So ever since my sweet mommy started chemo our prayer has been that it would "kill the bad cells and leave all the good ones!" This means we want it to kill her cancer cells but leave her much needed White blood cells (important for fighting off infection) and Red blood cells (RBCs) such as her hemoglobin (important for carrying oxygen in our blood) and hematocrit (important measure of the red blood cells) alone. After her type of chemo her nadir, which by easy definition means the lowest point her good cells will be is day 10-14. This is important for us to know because this is when she is most at risk for infection, being tired from being anemic (low RBCs), and most important time for her to stay healthy and well. I, being the paranoid daughter/in home nurse/in home worry wart, have prayed lots for these good cells of hers as well as I know she has and so has many others. She has these blood levels checked 10-14 days after her round of chemo then 4-5 days before her next round (to make sure they are high enough to recieve her next round of chemo)....and let me tell you.....

Her good cells have ROCKED it!!!! Yay!! They were almost completely normal!!!

Her last WBC count was 6.2 (3.8-10.9 is normal)
RBC count was 3.40 (normal=3.8-5.1)
Hemoglobin was 11 (normal 11.7-15.5)
Hematocrit was 33.1 (normal 35-45)
And her Tumor Marker is 4, yes you read that right it's only 4!! Yipee. That means her chemo IS killing the bad cells!

So all in all she has been slightly anemic since her surgery and started chemo so we have ramped up her protein and red meat but her WBC are kickin butt! I think they are higher than mine are usually. After each round of chemo she has been getting a Neulasta shot to help boost her WBC count which is obviously helping. I unfortunately am the one delivering these shots to my mom, never thought I would be inflicting the pain of a shot to my own mother but knowing how much it helps her helps me do it!!

With that said she had labs drawn yesterday so please be prayerful that her good cells were protected and her bad cells gone!!! We are excited to celebrate Father's day this weekend then she will be headed for Round #3 of chemo on Tuesday....lots of prayers, please and thank you!! After this round of chemo she will be getting another PET/CT scan to prove that the cancer is gone:) I will keep you updated on the status of those results when they are available.

Sorry you probably weren't planning on an Anatomy and Physiology lesson for today but there you have it, in its quickest and simplest terms:)