LTM

His ANC yesterday was at 750 & we were able to start long term maintenance. 750 was the magic number to start & he barely made it. His ANC last week was over 1000 so I thought it would be higher because he was on chemo break. Can't seem to comprehend how it works. He received Vincristine thru his port and a Lumbar puncture. This phase is the longest phase & mainly oral chemos to give at home. A big problem for us. He will take the following medicines.

Dexamethasone - Steroids which makes him so cranky, hungry and his sleeping pattern changes.
Mercaptopurine 6MP - This chemo should be taken on an empty stomach one hour before & no food & dairy 2 hours after. Cannot be combined with Bactrim.
Methotrexate - This is another chemo medicine to be taken every Monday except for spinal tap week. Cannot be combined with Bactrim.
Bactrim - Twice a day, Saturday and Sunday. Twice a week now instead of three times.
No more Fluconazole.

We are scheduled for another cbc in the coming week because the doctor just want to see how his marrow reacts since he started on the borderline ANC level. They will monitor his ANC and will adjust his meds accordingly. They want it to be in 1000-1500 range.

They also gave him a flu shot for seasonal flu.