Day 86--Up to the Same Old Tricks

Torger had another biopsy yesterday, but Dr. Tse didn't bother to check his bone marrow because he's now 100% engrafted. We'll get the results in another week, but right now we're feeling quite positive about the possibility of being able to go home in a couple of weeks. Torger's tacrolimus levels have stabilized, but despite my worrying, Dr. Tse isn't concerned about them at this point anyway because he wants to start gradually tapering down Torger's immunosuppressant intake. We went down to a lesser dosage (.8 mg) on January 1. This new dosage doesn't come in pill form, so Torger has to swallow a syringe full of it twice a day...which burns his tongue. (It's amazing how easy it is, going through this life-saving course of treatment, to focus on the little, irritating parts that are so noticeable on a day-to-day basis.) At the BIC (Bone Marrow Infusion Center) the other day, we heard a woman trying to explain to her very irritated doctor why she hadn't been taking her medications, which had led to a relapse. At first we were just baffled as to why anyone undergoing treatment for a serious cancer would skip their medications. But then we remembered that some medications do have side effects that make you feel bad. Someone dealing with the fatigue and "chemo brain" of recovery could easily have a hard time even keeping all the pills straight, much less mustering up the will to take something that doesn't immediately feel like it's helping. This is just one of more of the reasons that patients are required to have a 24-hour caregiver...it's so much easier to keep on track when someone is there to help manage the details. Now that we're almost through our 100 days, it's all starting to make sense!