Good Numbers :-)

To All:

(Big, s**t Eating Grin!)

Monday was a Big Lab day. Five vials of blood. No biggie; mebbe..
four ounces? I get a Big Lab once a month, plus the Little Lab once a
week... plus an IV drip once a month.

The reason for taking that much blood is so they can run about a dozen
(!!) additional tests. Weekly lab only keeps track of a few Key
Indicators. Any change to a Key Indicator sez I got some serious
problems. Since being diagnosed with cancer in June, I've only had
three episodes where the Little Lab tests said something was out of
kilter. They hauled me in post haste, ran a Big Lab series to find
out WHY I had 'bad numbers'.

The first time it happened, I ended up back in the hospital. But only
for one night. Went home with a radically altered drug regime. In
the months which followed, I've had two Big Lab days that called for a
change in my pill recipe. The first of those, they asked to me in
immediately so they could run some confirming tests. In the second
they offered their congratulations: I was doing better than expected
but I could wait until my next regularly scheduled appointment before
altering my dosages.

If this sounds like Normal Business that's exactly what it is: The
physicians, the nurse/practitioners and their supporting Staff are in
the Healthy Business, and the manner in which they prescribe the
various drugs shows the depth of their competence. As each drug does
its Thing, the physicians are ready to prescribe the next round of
chemotherapy, responding to my symptoms, or rather, to the chemical
signals being given off by my cancer. My weekly lab report describes
those chemical signals, which the physicians use to adjust the
carefully tailored suit of drugs they've brought to bear upon my
tumor.

This is not guess-work. In prescribing various drugs the physicians
are showing the depth of their competence, a fact confirmed by my
weekly lab results.

But even without the figures from the lab, I know when things are
going well. It is impossible to quantify but after each change to my
chemical stew, there comes a point where I begin to FEEL BETTER. I
walk with a firmer tread; my exercises are accomplished in less time
with less fatigue. Still, it's nice for them to take the trouble to
call.

So... Monday was a Big Lab day. And today I get a call from the
Physician (which is enough to scare the hell outta any one!) But he
was calling because the results of the Big Lab tests said I'd made a
kind of Break-Through.

Having scared the tar outta me, the physician was very pleased with
himself. Now this value here... this 2.7 whatever... was JUST what
they wanted to see, since the Acceptable Range was 2.5 to 3.0.

"Good numbers," is how he put it. "You've got some really good
numbers here." So excuse the grin. And the extra stroll around the
patio. Because I've got Good Numbers today :-)

-R.S.Hoover