As scheduled, I had my appointment with Dr. Caron at the Sloan Kettering satellite office in Westcheseter, and then the first of four weekly rituxin treatments. Probably as an effect of the shot of neulasta I had about two weeks ago, my white blood count was up to 4.4. Normal range is 4.5 to 10.5, but it's certainly an improvement on my 1.9 or 2.0 past readings.
On the other hand, my red blood cell count was a little low!It was 3.69. Normal range is 4.0 to 6.0. This may be due to the neulasta – it stimulates the bone marrow to produce white cells, cutting into it's rbc production. My weight is steady at 155.
The rituxin treatment takes about 2 and a half hours. It is given by IV through my medi-port. They give you a couple of meds to make you dopey. It doesn't always have that effect on me, but it did this time. Fell asleep while taking the IV and then needed a nap at home. In the past I've always gone to the gym after receiving rituxin, but decided to pass on the gym this evening.
Had a nice chat with Dr. Caron about our kids. He has twin boys who will be 12 in September. I told him about Joe's summer experience at Fordham Prep and he was interested. He also laughed when I told him that a couple of weeks ago I'd said to Brigid "You know, if given the choice between going through puberty again, or having another stem cell transplant, I'd take the transplant."
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