The good news is that KD's bone marrow biopsy results came back and were really good. Last month the test showed a 2% cancer cell saturation. This time it came back at 0% saturation. As in--no significant detectable cancer cells in his bone marrow!
Before you whoop it up, the bad news is that this is not over. People often have relapses, and it is often because there were cells hiding in the tricky areas around the spine and brain in the spinal fluid. Which is why they do a lot of spinal taps (lumbar punctures). The idea is to keep stomping to see what else comes out from hiding. Like cockroaches hiding under the 'fridge.
So this month is a chemo cycle similar to last month where they zap his bone marrow one last time to make sure they've gotten everything. Then starting in early April is another cycle of chemo lasting 12 weeks that focuses on the spine and head to shake the last possible cancer cells loose.
That's the cycle where he actually gets radiation therapy right to his head. He's hoping that he develops an enlarged brain like something out of Star Trek, and possibly powers that go beyond simple spoon bending. With luck he'll be able to play his guitar with his mind power alone. Heck, if he gets good, he could play his guitar AND his bass with his brain waves, and finally be able to learn the drums just so he can start a real one-man band. That would be spooky. Opeth eat your heart out. Can you imagine the marketing on this?
Well, before he gets to the spoon-bending phase, he still has a pretty rough month of chemo for March. This week and next he's got daily appointments. Today he had a lumbar puncture, an IV chemo drip, a regular chemo shot, and pills. The Ativan they gave him for the lumbar puncture is still making him walk like a drunken monkey. He's eating well though, which is great because he's technically supposed to be really really nauseous right now. I say 'eating well' with a slight hint of sarcasm because he's eating everything I put in front of him plus whatever he can scrounge in the kitchen when he thinks I'm not looking.
Aside from the lack of barfing, he's responding exactly right to the chemo. In fact he's one of the few patients ever to respond like this. Classic text book stuff. He's perfectly on schedule and his cancer is disappearing like it's supposed to. Apparently this is very rare to be doing so well. I think he's really itching to get back to work, is what it is :-)
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