A Blast of Neulasta: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Yesterday, I had to stop by Dr. E's to get a shot of Neulasta. Why, you ask? Dr. E and team want to prevent my white count from dropping so low (like that .4 action I had last week...) that I might be susceptible to fever and infection. Neulasta is used to stimulate the growth of "healthy" white blood cells in the bone marrow, once chemotherapy is given. In addition to avoiding a serious infection in the short-term, it is also important for me to keep my white count up because Dr. E WILL NOT take me into surgery on July 9 if my count is not at least in the mid-range of a typical white count (so, somewhere between 5.0 - 6.0 or so). And as many of you know, I definitely want to get that stupid second surgery out of the way so I'll happily put up with (yet another) drug that might cause me severe bone pain in order to keep that count up!

And speaking of shots, I had two needle biopsies this morning at my dermatologist's office to test a couple of suspicious looking moles. I got a compliment while there: The medical assistant in the room was a 22-year old kid who just graduated from Georgetown University and is about to start medical school at Loyola in Chicago. He thought we might play the name game when he found out I went to Virginia but then I clarified that I graduated from there over 10 years ago. Well, his jaw dropped to the floor when he figured out that I was 32-years old! Yay me. Too bad he's not about 10 years older and gainfully employed...