LAST TREATMENT!!!! :D

I'm all done!  I had my last treatment on Tuesday (Dec 20)!  My platelets actually weren't high enough, they were 68, but Dr. Harker said he didn't want to wait any longer so we went ahead and did it anyway!  Thank goodness too, because I wanted to be done by Christmas!  BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!!! I actually might feel a little crummy on Christmas, but at least now I can say that this is the last time I won't feel good from chemo.  It's all up hill from here!  UCS also gave me some Martinelli's sparkling apple cider as a congratulations, so that was nice :)  My sister and I toasted to me being done when I got home :)

I will keep everyone updated still on how this last cycle goes with my counts and transfusions and everything, and I'll also post the results from the last pet scan I'll be getting on Dec 30.  Cross your fingers (and pray) that it will be 100% clean!  Also.........I'm so excited for my hair to start growing back!!!  I'll definitely be posting pictures when I have something to show! 

Thanks everyone for helping me get through with all of your prayers, love and support!  I love you!

 

This is the bell at UCS that you get to ring after you've had your last treatment and everyone cheers for you! 

I rang it so hard it came off of the wall!!! (excited much? lol)

Typical

Alright, so I was supposed to get my last treatment yesterday, but of course that didn't happen lol.  I'm so used to it by now it doesn't even bother me anymore :)  Anyway, my platelets went down from 80 last Friday to 61 yesterday morning.  Dr. Harker said, "Celeste, I do not understand your body...."  haha  I love how I still surprise him even though I always do this dance.  In other words, I'm consistent with myself, just not with everybody else lol.  So we'll try treatment again next Tuesday.

Meanwhile......my hematocrit was low (25), so they FINALLY decided to give me some blood!  I've been feeling lightheaded for the past week, so it was nice that Dr. Harker finally signed two transfusion orders.  So my mom and I went to IMC to type and cross for my blood orders.  But then we had a few hours to kill before they would receive the blood from Red Cross.  Hmmmm.....whatever were we going to do with all that time........go to the movies!!!  haha We went to Sandy Movies 9 and saw The Help.  Good movie!  I recommend it!  So then we went back to IMC and I got my blood, and my mom and I took a nap on our favorite bed in our favorite room and I watched part of The Grinch with Jim Carey.  It was great :)  And thanks to the blood I am feeling much better today. 

I'll let you all know how next week goes.  Thanks for all of your support and prayers!

5 down, 1 to go!!!

I had my 5th treatment last Tuesday.  That was the first time since the beginning of treatments that I only had 4 weeks in between cycles instead of 5 lol.  So it was still postponed a little, but hey, I'll take what I can get!  Last week I did pretty good while I was on the prednisone (gotta love steroids!), and then on Sunday, like usual, it hit.  I had a nose bleed that took me over 2 hours to stop.  Stupid platelets!  So lo and behold when I went in to UCS on Monday to get a CBC my platelets were at 2. No surprises there lol.  So I got a transfusion.  As usual.  Then I wasn't supposed to go in again until today (Wednesday) but I got another nosebleed on Tuesday.  Did a CBC at the hospital: platelets were 3.  So I got another transfusion.  The good news is......I didn't get a nosebleed today!!!!! haha.  I've also been a little more nautious than usual the past few days, but it's starting to get better so no worries :)  The only thing that's driving me nuts right now is that my mom has me quarantined in my room and will only let me go out if I wear a mask because half of my family is sick and my white blood cell count is really low right now from the chemo. Good thing I have a TV (thank you Uncle Doug) and lots of books lol.  

So despite everything I just said, (lol) I really am doing well.  I'm looking forward to only having one treatment left and to be able to stop fighting this platelet battle.  Although, I am going to miss the nurses at the transfusion center! Thank you everyone for your continued prayers!  It really is helping me get better! :)

Much love,

Celeste

Sorry!

Sorry everyone for keeping you hanging for the past couple weeks!  Mostly I just have good news.  I went to see the bone marrow specialists last Wednesday, and it looks like I won't be going in that direction unless the cancer comes back within the next 5 years.  Phew!  I also found out during the consultation that although my second bone marrow biopsy showed the same "peculiar abnormalities" in my marrow, there were less of them!  I don't know why no one had told us that before!  So they'll do another biopsy after I'm done with treatments and there might not be any more of the abnormalities.  Who knows!  Pray hard!  The best thing that I walked away with from that visit is that they want me to see an Immunologist to see if there is some underlying problem to the illnesses that I keep getting so that maybe I can get some help there.  They decided this because they looked at ALL of my medical history and noted that since I got mono when I was 16, I have had several illnesses.  Walking pneumonia, shingles, whooping cough, epstein barr virus (EBV), and now lymphoma.  We're going to try to get some answers!  Wahoo!

So I was supposed to have my 5th chemotherapy treatment yesterday.  Didn't happen.  Surprise surprise.  My platelets were up to 61 last Monday and yesterday they had dropped to 30.  Oh well.  Not as bad as less than one!  lol.  My hematocrit was also low, so I got 2 blood transfusions.  So I'm having more energy today!  I didn't feel very good yesterday after the transfusions though, and I think it's because they didn't give me benedril to help with the effects.  They usually give me tylenol AND benedril for transfusions, but for some reason Dr. Harker had crossed off benedril on my transfusion order.  I'll have to ask him about that because usually I take transfusions very well, but yesterday I didn't.  Anyway, all is well and we'll try chemotherapy again next Tuesday.  Here's a fun picture of me watching the blood slowly move through the tube into my port.  I was so excited to get it!

Oh Transfusions, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

So.....two days ago my platelets were less then 1.  LESS than 1!!  I think that's as close to 0 as I can get.....the nurse had to run my blood SIX times cause nothing was even showing up....barely detectable.  But again, thank goodness for transfusions.  Thanks to all who donate.  I need your beautiful platelets!  I went back for another CBC today, and they gave me 2 more transfusions.  But at least my platelets were higher: 11.  The good news is that I didn't need any blood transfusions!  I'm doing much better than Monday and Tuesday in any case.  My tummy is giving me a little more grief than usual, I think I caught something that my sister had.  But at least it's not unbearable, and it shouldn't last long.

I talked to this sweet young lady today while I was at IMC getting my transfusions.  She was there to get her first chemo treatment for Breast Cancer.  She's only 29 years old, is married and has a little 3 year old girl.  Poor thing....she looked so terrified.  I know it was nice for me to be able to talk to people who could explain things in a different way than doctors could cause they had actually experienced it, so I hope I was able to help her some.  So if you need someone else to pray for too, there you go! :)

 

Ok, so I know it's not Halloween anymore, but my mom bought this a couple weeks ago

and hung it on my door and I just think it's hilarious!  ALL of my siblings thought it was real and 

were totally grossed out.  hehehehe.

Day to Day

Well, nothing really exciting to report.  Thursday I announced that I made gluten free waffles that tasted like cardboard.  My sister Heather said, "What? I thought they were really good!"  And then she realized that they just tasted like cardboard to ME because I had "chemo mouth".  The chemo just makes everything taste sort of like metal and not very appetizing for a while.  The good news is that it doesn't last more than about 5 days for me usually, so things are already starting to taste normal to me again :)  But hey, it's an ok sacrifice considering that the chemo is working so well!  If I stay on schedule (which I should because Dr. Harker is keeping me on anti-viral medication which should help my platelets from plummeting due to a virus last round), then my last treatment will be on December 6th! 

Of course, I still may be having a bone marrow transplant, but we won't know any details on that till I meet with the specialists in a week or so.  My platelets were 33 yesterday, when they're usually about 14 or lower at this point in my cycle, so that's definitely a good sign with the spleen.  At least we're no longer looking at a spleenectomy.  Surgery in the middle of this probably wouldn't be very fun.

Last week was very busy for me, I went to the Autumn Concert at the Tabernacle by the Orchestra at Temple Square.  They played Mahler and the Passion among other things.  It was so beautiful!  And President Uchtdorf was there too, so it was neat to see him from a distance.  Also last week I went the the Utah Music Therapy Association Conference, and it was so delightful to see all of my friends from school and to meet some new faces!  And last but not least, I played at my cousin's wedding reception last night.  It was so beautiful!  Congrats!  So my days are filled with family and friends and enjoying my beautiful room and working on my cross stitch :)  It's a wonderful life!  I know it's not Christmas yet, but I just get so excited this time of year.  I think we could all just skip Halloween and go straight to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  In any case.....Happy Halloween everyone!

Chemo today

Celeste's platelets are 96 this morning! This means we are staying for chemotherapy today.

Bonemarrow specialists from LDS hospital will contact us to start process of determining if Celeste is a good candidate for transplant.

"I Vant To Suck Your Blood!"

Quite literally actually!  Last Thursday I had 3 blood transfusions.  My hemadocrit was pretty low.  But yesterday it was nice and high again!  I guess that's what happens when they dump 3 bags of blood into ya lol.  I always feel like a vampire when I get transfusions.  Appropriate for Halloween, right?  haha just kidding.  But seriously, I always feel better after transfusions.  Thanks to all who donate!  You can't donate directly to me, but hey, it just means more in the bank that they can choose from!  My platelets were also higher yesterday: 41.  We're going to try chemo next Tuesday.  By then it will have been 5 weeks since my last treatment. 

All is well.  I'm loving the fall weather and spending time with the family.  Thank you all for your continuous prayers and support.  God bless!

Good News & Bad News

Ok, I'll start with the good news.  I got the pet scan results back and the tumors are 95% gone!  Which means I only have to have 3 more treatments :)  Thank you for the prayers everyone, I know that they helped.  Also, it looks like a spleenectomy is no longer in the future.  Hooray!  However, I may yet need to have a bone marrow transplant at some point.

Now, this isn't really bad news, but it's just kind of annoying.  Yesterday I went in to have my fourth treatment.  That didn't really work out....my platelets were at 10 (got another transfusion).  Not because of my spleen, but because of this virus (that apparently ISN'T shingles) that I have on my back and/or the medication that I'm taking for it.  *sigh*  Oh well.  Is it weird that I get so excited for them to poison me? lol.  I just want to get my treatments over with.  But the Lord knows that, so I guess he's trying to teach me patience!  That will be my lifelong trial, way more than cancer.  Especially since I'm going to be better in a couple months!  Yay!

Also, thank you to everyone who came to the benefit concert!  It was so fun!  I loved seeing everyone, especially my Logan buddies who I don't see very often anymore.  It was such an awesome night, thank you for making it so special for me!

Picking Plums

Plums!  Yum!  Sorry the picture is sideways...

Quick Update

Alright, so 2 Fridays ago my platelets were at 22, and they went DOWN to 20 the following Tuesday!  Grr!!!  But the good news is that 3 days after that they went up to 55!  So we're crossing our fingers that they'll be up to 75 by Tuesday for my 4th treatment.  At least we know now that the bone marrow has nothing to do with my platelet problem.  It's just not as healthy as they'd like it to be. 

So last night I noticed some red bumps on my back....Shingles....my arch nemesis!  This is the FOURTH time that I've gotten shingles.  However, I only had it really bad the first time I got it a few years ago.  Since then I've been able to catch in within the first 72 hours and got medication for it to stop it in its tracks.  So no worries :)  I got some medication today for it so it should be gone within the next couple of days. 

Thank you all for your continuous prayers.  I am doing quite well, despite the shingles and the platelet battle.  I hope to see many of you at the benefit concert tomorrow!  

Donation Account

So many people have been asking if they can still donate because they cannot go to the benefit concert in Logan.  The answer is yes!  I just set up a donation account at Deseret First Credit Union, so if you would like to you can go there to make a donation to the account OR you can donate using an electronic transaction!  If you would like to do so, the account number is 753579526 and the routing number is 324078909. 

If you have any further questions just let me know!  Thanks everyone! 

BENEFIT CONCERT!!

So my awesome Music Therapy Student Association friends at USU are doing a benefit concert on October 10th, and they are being oh so generous in giving me and my family half of the proceeds!  I love those guys....  Anyway, if you wanna come, please come!  I would love to see the beautiful smiling faces of everyone who has been praying for me and concerned with my healing process.  And besides that, my fellow music therapy students are some of the most talented people I know and they will blow your socks off!   Also, yours truly will be performing :)  I'm so exited! 

Details about Concert:  (If questions, post on blog or email me at celeste.p@aggiemail.usu.edu.  I will also                                        be posting the actual flier on facebook.)

Date and Time:  October 10th @ 7:00 P.M.
Location: St. Johns Episcopal Church  85 East 100 North, Logan, UT
Price:
    USU Students: $5
    Adults: $8
    Family Pass: $20

CURRENT UPDATE:
    Oh yes, and today (Friday) my CBC counts were much better.  Platelets were at 22, and white blood counts and hemadocrit were both higher.  I'm feeling awesome!  I have another chekup on Tuesday and will be receiving my first pet scan since I started treatments next Wednesday.  Hooray!  Enjoy General Conference everyone!

Bald Twins!

This is a totally awesome picture of me and my brother-in-law Mitchell

after he first shaved my head.  I realized that I didn't have a picture on here

of what I actually look like now without a wig or a hat!  

So yeah, that's me rockin the bald doo.  Mitchell's head is

shinier.  So not fair..... :)

Celeste's Spleen Problem - Some Specifics

The technical term for the low platelet problem Celeste is battling with is
immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). We go meet with doctors again today to discuss
blood levels and spleen removal. I thought I better understand better what is going on.
This link has some good - specific information.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/itp/

Check out the tabs along the left side. The best tabs are WHAT IS....
                                                                                    CAUSES
                                                                                    TREATMENTS

 

Checkup

Celeste's platelets are 2. Her hematocrit is low and her white count is in the basement. 

Not feeling very good... vomited on the ride in. 

Celeste will receive 2 units of blood and 1 bag of platelets today. 

Platelet update: Drum Roll Please......

Platelets are 109!!! Celeste is being treated with chemotherapy today! Dr. Harker couldn't feel her spleen at ll today. We don't have bone marrow results yet... should before they leave. 

"Hole"y Body

So my mom and I decided today that I have a holey body!  Reason being, I have holes poked in my port every week, I got a bone marrow biopsy yesterday so I have a hole in my hip, and today I got 4 immunization shots in my arms.  I'm kind of sick of being poked lol.  But hey, at least now I can say that I'm holy!  Well.......maybe. lol

The biopsy went well, I don't remember this one hardly at all, so a lot less pain :)  The immunization shots I got were just in case they decide to take my spleen out next week because I'll be more susceptible to infections.  I would ask my mom what the names of the immunization shots were, but she's in bed right now.  I'll post them later.  We'll get the results from the biopsy next Tuesday and we'll go from there.  Right now we really don't know a whole lot about what next week is going to look like.  I'll keep you posted!

Bone Marrow Biopsy

Platelets were too low today AGAIN.  Tomorrow they will do another bone marrow biopsy to see if that's what's driving the platelet problem, and they'll decide next week about the spleenectomy. 

In the meantime, I am still doing well and enjoying hobbies :)  However, if there is anyone who would like to get me out of the house to do something fun while I'm feeling well, I sure would love it!

Postponed Treatment

Well, I was supposed to get my 3rd chemotherapy treatment this last Tuesday, but my platelets were only at 35 and they need to be at least 75, so they postponed it another week.  We're going to try again this Tuesday.  Decisions about spleen removal are still undecided. 

Although it was unfortunate that my treatment was postponed, it also meant another week of feeling good!  On Monday we went boating with some friends and I had a lovely time sitting on the boat enjoying nice weather and watching my siblings and their friends fly off the tube we were pulling lol.  AWESOME.  I found it was much more enjoyable to watch than to be the one slamming into the water ;)  This week was also corn harvesting week, so I can honestly say that I've shucked my fair share of corn!  I've really been enjoying the beautiful weather and the quiet days while the kids are at school and enjoy spending time with my mother or reading, working on my cross stitch, and playing the piano.  I've also been doing exercises to try to rebuild muscle because I lost so much before I started treatments.  Rest assured I am doing very well and am just hoping for higher platelets so I can finish treatments before Christmas.  Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Higher Platelets!

So I'll just do a quick update of the past week.  As you already know last Tuesday my platelets were at 2 and I had to get a transfusion.  On Thursday they were 10 which was still low enough to need another transfusion.  I also got a blood transfusion because my himadicrit (sp?) was low.  But after that I started to feel better!  Friday and Saturday were my best days and I'm still doing pretty good.  Today my platelets were 26! Yay!  Only problem is they have to climb to at least 75 by next Tuesday in order to have my next chemo treatment that day.  Cross your fingers!  If my platelets are still too low and my treatments keep having to be pushed back because of it they'll consider taking out my spleen cause they think that's what's chewing them up.  They'll take a bone marrow biopsy before they do that they because I have "peculiar abnormalities" in my bone marrow and they want specialists to see if that might be the thing causing the platelet problem before they take out my spleen.  Some more good news though, Dr. Harker (my oncologist) said that he couldn't feel any of the lymphnodes anymore!  That means that they're shrinking!  Yay!  Thanks for the prayers everyone! :)

Round Two Platelet Battle

8/16: Round 2 chemotherapy, Platelets = 79
8/19: Platelets = 14
8/23: Platelets = 2 Celeste is recieving a transfusion of platelets at  Huntsman cancer center on the IMC campus.
8/28: We will recheck platelets. If low platelets delay chemotherapy again  the doctor will address removing her spleen.

Celeste is weak but upbeat. Thanks for prayers!!!

Blood Work

I went back to the outpatient clinic today to check my plateletes and to make sure everything else was going well.  My plateletes did take a dive from 79 on Tuesday to 14 today.  They'll give me a transfusion on Tuesday next week, but I'm ok right now.  I'm a little tired and feel kinda sore, but that's normal.  At least I'm keeping food and water down.  All in all I'm doing well and much better than the last go around!  No hospital!  Hooray!

Shaleece's Wedding

Round Two

Celeste's Platelets are good, up from 51 to 79. She gets the second round of chemo today.

Update on Chemo Treatment

So I was supposed to have my second chemo treatment yesterday (Thursday 11), but my doctor (Dr. Harker) postponed it till Tuesday to see if my platelettes will go up anymore before they poison me again.  But even if they're not up by then they'll still give me chemo regardless.  But the good news is.....I'll feel better at my sister's (Shaleece) wedding!  Hooray!  So for all of you coming to the wedding, I should be bright and cheery :)  Little miracles :)

Me before Chemo

So my mom wanted me to put up a picture of what I looked like before chemo. Here it is!

Good to be Home

Writing to her Elder Jencks

New Hair!

GOING HOME!!

Blood counts continue to climb:
Tues white blood count 3.6
Weds white blood count 7.9

Tues platelets 36
Weds platelets 28
Good enough to go home!!!!!!!!

WAY TO GO CELESTE!

Good News - Bad News

Good news - Bad news:
Celeste has reponded to a change in antibiotics and is no longer
having fevers. For awhile there was concern that the fluid collected
between her lungs and chest wall was infected. With the fevers
responding they have ruled that out. Her xrays show improvement in her
pneumonia. She has a good productive cough = yuck!

White blood cell counts dipped down to almost nothing but are
on the rise.
white blood count normal ranges 4.3 - 10.8
Celeste Friday = .3
Celeste Sat     = .1
Celeste Sun    = .7
Celeste Mon   = 2.0   Wahoo!

Platelet count Saturday = 10
Platelet count Sunday = 14  They didn't transfuse
Platelet count Monday = 7  She will get a transfusion of platelets
today. The HLA testing is still not back.

Battling nausea and vomiting is her current drawback. Changing medication
has helped this morning but makes her really sleepy......
Thank you for all of your prayers!
A special thank you to everyone who contributed to the wonderful
pictures and messages!!!!!!! What a blessing good friends are!

Music Therapy

Good ole music therapy!

Improvement

It is Friday morning and Celeste is making some good progress!
Another chest xray shows that the pneumonia is responding to antibiotics.

Adema is slowly shrinking. 

Digestive tract is behaving better. 

White blood cells are starting to climb - it will be several days before she is off the restrictions that protect her from low white blood cells.

 

Platelets continue to be an elusive battle. Yesterday, after three transfusions, she went from a platelet count of 3 to 38. We were very encouraged .... that is the highest she has been since entering the hospital. This morning her count was back down to 4.  ;(  The testing they are doing on her blood should be back soon. 

HLA testing (human leukocyte antigen) helps them match her platelet donations more closely so that her body doesn't reject the transfusions.

 

Overall, Celeste's spirits have been improving since Wednesday. It looks like we will be

in the hospital at least through the weekend. We are very grateful to be here receiving such excellent, specialized care. 

Something to Make you Laugh

Mom - turning her beeping cell phone off -

"I am going to put you to sleep so I don't have

to listen to you die anymore!"

 

Celeste - from hospital bed -

"Taken out of context that sounds really bad!"

Routine Walk in the Hall

Celeste wearing a mask standing next to her favorite picture. Her white blood cells are now low enough in the chemo cycle that she has to protect herself when walking in the hall. Her favorite picture reminds her of brownies with a river of milk running through it!

So Blessed

 I am having a tearful moment feeling overwhelmed by all the love of ministering angels! We have so many people lovingly caring for and  about Celeste, at home, here at the hospital, our Ward family and friends, our extended family, friends in Alaska and close by. We are  being blessed by your prayers and your service! Thank you and God bless you!

-Christi Poll (mom)

Family Home Evening

Playing Go Fish with her younger siblings for FHE

Hair Cut!

Celeste has said that she is kind of excited to be able to shave her head. Most of us girls have complained about having to take care of our hair and have most likely threatened once or twice to just shave it all off. Celeste actually gets to! But before that she wants to help others with cancer and donate her hair for a wig.

Pictures of cutting her hair:

mom braiding her hair so it's all in one piece to donate.

Celeste's sweet cousin Angie who volunteered to cut her hair

Beautiful!

Donating Blood

For those of you who wonder what you can do to help Celeste, donating blood would be much appreciated. Since Celeste is needing platelet transfusions it is suggested that friends and family take some time to donate to keep the supply up. You can't donate to a specific person but your donation will make a difference. To help shed a little more light on the need of a large supply of platelet and blood donations here is  another story of a little girl who is in need of many platelet transfusions.

Emily Emily Myers received her first platelet transfusion when she was just minutes old. By her third birthday, she had received about 80 transfusions, and she is expected to receive more as she gets older.   The daughter of Brooke and Jim Myers of Tucson, Emily was born with the rare genetic condition thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome. The disorder is characterized by extremely low levels of platelets. In addition, TAR syndrome patients may have abnormalities in the gastrointestinal, skeletal, hematologic and cardiac systems.   Emily received one to two platelet transfusions per week for the first two months of her life. She now gets a transfusion about once a month. The low platelet count in TAR children can improve with age to the point that transfusions are no longer needed. Until Emily reaches that point, Brooke wants to spread awareness of the need for platelet donors. “She has helped us recruit new platelet donors this past year, including two of her brothers-in-law.  Brooke has really helped inspire me ...she is just a wonderful and caring person all around,” said Stacie Baier of the American Red Cross.   Schedule your appointment now to donate blood or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

redcrossblood.org | 1-800-RED CROSS | 1-800-733-2767 If you have questions regarding your eligibility to donate blood, please call 1-866-236-3276 or visit their website.

Platelets

Normal platelet ranges from 150 - 400. When Celeste was in the hospital at the beginning of July her platelets were at 40. This was due to the lymphoma. That is not a good level but not an alarming level. When doing chemotherapy, a persons platelets will drop low between 6 -10 days afterward. Because Celeste is in the hospital they check all of her blood counts daily. Her white and red blood cells are recovering well from the chemo treatment. On day 4 (Sunday) her platelet count was 12. Since Sunday morning they have given her at least 2 bags of platelet transfusions a day, sometimes 3. After a transfusion the platelets will rise to 25 - 28 and then within a few hours drop again. Monday night they dropped to 7. Tuesday night they went up to 22 and dropped back down to 9 this morning. They have told us that one of the things keeping her in the hospital is her platelet level. This morning they explained to us that it is her spleen that is causing the problem. It is so enlarged that it is gobbling up all the platelets they give her or she trys to make on her own. We have not met with the Oncologist today to determine where we go from here.

Good News!

 Okay... Today has been a bit of a wild ride! Celeste really does feel and look like she is in a fat suit they use for actors! we will spare you pictures! 

Good News: they can see in the scans today that Celeste is responding to chemo! The masses she has are already shrinking! The swelling today is a combination of the Tumor Lysis overwhelming her system, massive doses of prednisone which contributes to swelling, and low protein in her cells. She has plural effusions which means there is fluid between her lungs and chest wall making it very hard to breathe!
Treatment=  Lasix/diuretic to slough water out of cells. 

Swelling

Celeste is still in the hospital so the doctors can keep an eye on her as the Chemo is kicking in. This morning they found that her whole abdomen is swollen and is continuing to swell... her legs are now involved. The nurse says she doesn't think it is an allergic reaction. They are going to do an ultrasound on her legs and a CT scan. We're praying everything is okay and that she will soon be able to go home with fewer complications.

Getting some rest

Getting some rest in her comfortable home before heading back to the hospital. 

Smurf

I'm a smurf! this is the cleaning agent they used for my port surgery... can't shower for 24 hours.

Donald Duck

"I am Donald Duck! Just think about it.... He is so cute and funny but all the bad stuff happens to him!" he he he

Checking out the blog. Either she is tired or she doesn't like it ;)

Celeste and chemo.... Before she falls asleep from the megadoses of Benadryl they are pumping into her....

Chilling...zzzzzzzz

The start of Chemo

As of 12:38 this afternoon Dr. Harker (the Oncologist) had left. Because Celeste was already breaking down cells (seen from blood work this morning) and chemo will accelerate that process they needed to be admitted to the IMC (intermountain medical center). They will keep her flushed with fluids and bring her calcium down to protect her kidneys.

They found that Celeste has Tumor Lysis Syndrome. This means the body is recognizing and breaking down cancer cells too fast. It is too hard on the kidneys. To treat it they have to give her IV fluids.

Final diagnosis

After being diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer at the end of June Celeste went in for a biopsy July 4th. The biopsy was for the doctors to know exactly what they were dealing with and how best to treat it. Finally last night they received the results and Celeste was able to start chemotherapy this morning.

It is non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at a stage 3. It is a stage 3 because it does not involve her bone marrow. 

The final diagnosis: Atypical lymphohistiocytic proliferation, consistent with a B-cell lymphoma with plasmacytic differntation, not further classifiable.  

They will be using RCHOP for 6-8 sessions with bone marrow evaluation at the end. Today they used an IV site in the arm but will implant a port near her collarbone for future treatments.