One cycle left.

Yesterday, we were at Duke for the final treatment in my 3rd Cycle.  And this morning I went to my local Oncologist to get a Neulasta shot to help boost my white cell count.  Thank God for medical insurance - that Neulasta shot costs somewhere between $ 8,000 and $ 9,000 each.  Unbelievable.

Now I have a break for 2 weeks before starting Cycle 4, which hopefully is my last chemotherapy cycle.  I will get tested and reassessed in the latter part of December, and assuming the tests show the one persistent lymph node in my abdomen has disappeared, I should be ready to start the bone marrow transplant sometime in January.  As I was singing to Holly the other day, "All I want for Christmas is a clean PET scan, a clean PET scan, yes a clean PET scan."

We have been traveling to Duke for treatments for about the last 20 weeks.  Add to that 2 or 3 more weeks waiting for the biopsy and the pathology results, and we have been living with this cancer thing for the last 5 1/2 or 6 months.  In some respects the time seems to have gone by quickly.  But in other ways we are ready to get this phase behind us.  Even though I am extremely fortunate and blessed to not be reacting badly to the treatments, it is none the less beginning to wear thin.  It is time to move on.