Hurry Up
and wait
I’ve posted the first four chapters of my memoir for free and you can find them in my archives. If you’d like to read the remainder of the chapters, they’ll are available to paid subscribers (published twice a month) - BTW - I’ve extended my 50% off discount through the month of August.
I’m still not sure of the title, so for now I’m calling it:
Memoir of a Cancer Created Introvert.
Chapter 7
Journal Entry
June 28, 2021
Thank God for Joe because this is almost too much to process. He took great notes and asked lots of questions during the appointment with Dr. Adams. Meanwhile, I could barely form thoughts, let alone words. There’s an urgency to this that has me scared shitless. I have a disease that’s incurable except through stem cell transplant. Holy Crap! My mind is racing with all I need to do, but I just can’t focus.
I’m not sure how the next few months will go. Lots of tests, results, and opinions to sort through. My mind is racing with questions. Will I qualify for a transplant? Will my body accept these new stem cells? Where will those cells come from?
It’s all too much.
I can hear Joe asking Dr. Adams questions, though I ‘m having trouble paying attention to the answers. I checked out not long after he confirmed what I’d read in MyChart. And from my research, I know that having 8-13% blasts in my bone marrow is bad.
“It means you definitely have Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). If we don’t act expeditiously, your blast count could go up. Once it gets to 20% your disease will transition into Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).”
Hearing the word “acute,” made my breathing become shallow, and a weight began to press down on my chest.
“Is there a cure?”
My ears perked up when Joe asked that question.
“There are several treatment options: chemotherapy, radiation, clinical trials, stem cell transplant. . .”
“But is there a cure?” I repeated.
“The only treatment regarded as having curative potential for most MDS and AML patients is an allogeneic stem cell transplant.”
Say what?
