Thursday, April 10, 2008

Manda's Sick - MCV Day 1

We got the big spiel last night from 8 to 9pm. Special thanks to Dr. Kate Kimmelshue (our inside man) for sticking around and helping explain some of the pathology stuff.

We met our team of doctors:

Faculty (Attending): Dr. Shaw - jovial 50-yr-old with the answers
Fellow: Dr. Rome
Resident: Dr. Appert - reminds me of my cousin Cory, except with big red curly hair. And an MD.
Intern: Dr. Hoffman - youngest of the bunch; has an 18-month-old and an 8-month-old. Do the math.

Amanda's under the knife right now, getting her hickman line. She had her second bone marrow biopsy this morning (this time heavily anesthetized), and hasn't yet been allowed to eat since midnight. But she seems to be in pretty good spirits, and you can expect to see her online this afternoon, as my stepmother took her a laptop.

Pajiba at large: you guys rock! (But no marijuana, please)

So, anyway, the gist:

Amanda suffers from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, and until further differentials are complete, is being treated as having M0: Undifferentiated. Untreated, she would have been dead within 4 months.
7 days of chemotherapy, starting today. 3 days of cytarabine and idarubicin, 4 additional days of cytarabine. The following 18 - 22 days will be recovery. She will lose her hair, have mouth sores, feel crummy, and probably not be very good company. She will lose her appetite. Her birthday (the 22nd) will suck.
After the 2nd week (can't remember whether it was 2nd week of hospitalization or recovery), she will have another biopsy to see if the cancerous cells are gone. If so, she is considered to be in remission. If not, "we'll go from there".

Amanda is a strong and beautiful woman, but she's going to be tested.

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