This is just a quick update. I have obviously been pretty bad about keeping up with things lately. I started working again, which I am so thrilled to be doing, and I’ve basically resumed my normal routine of taking the kids to school, running errands, doing housework, working and working out. Mundane to most, but magical to me right now.

Overall I feel good. I am still dealing with a little bit of fatigue but I am also still slightly anemic as I wait for my counts to come up. I saw my regular oncologist yesterday and all of my counts are working their way up slowly but as expected. My white count has almost reached the normal range and my platelets are now at 50,000 exactly. Low for most people but a good place for me. The doctor said she expects my counts to be almost fully recovered in a couple of weeks. I go in for my next bone marrow biopsy the week before Thanksgiving and I am slated to start the maintenance chemo the Monday after Thanksgiving. The maintenance chemo is all out-patient, just for an hour a day for 4 days in a row, every 6-8 weeks. This would continue for 8 cycles, which is around a year. There are virtually no side effects and it doesn’t “attack” your immune system the way the other chemos have done. It is designed to correct the genetic defect that probably caused this disease to begin with. Since this is a clinical trial, there is no way yet of knowing whether this maintenance drug actually keeps people in longer or permanent remission but this is obviously the objective of the trial. Although I debated about doing this phase, I think I have decided to go forward with it. I wouldn’t want the leukemia to come back and then be left wondering if I had tried something else if it would have stayed away. Maybe this will work and one day I’ll be able to say I was a part of something that made a really big difference to future patients. Again, all we are left with sometimes is hope.

Aside from the day to day stuff, I am really busy planning and spending money for the holidays. I couldn’t be more excited about Christmas this year. I’m also excited for 2011 and ready to put 2010 behind me. Before I get back to work, I want to thank the Ulman Fund for including my story and photos in a PSA that will air at the Towson University football game this weekend. They did a great job with it and I hope it will help to bring more support to their organization.