My Saga with Leukemia

The Last of the Chemo

Somehow, knowing this would be my last hospital stay, I was more upbeat about getting the final round of chemo started so I could get back home the next month and begin to live my life again!

Good news awaited me that my last bone marrow test showed that my faulty chromosome was normal and I was indeed in a full remission. The final round of chemo would hopefully keep it that way for a long time.

From previous rounds of chemo I knew my blood pressure always became elevated so I carefully monitored those readings. Halfway through the treatment, I had my daily blood pressure reading and for lack of a better word, I "freaked" out! My BP was an alarming 200/100...and I was already taking blood pressure pills. I was quickly prescribed a second pill which thankfully brought me under control, but it was a scary point in my treatment.

After all was well that day, I asked what dosage of chemo I was getting. No one had ever told me each dose was higher so when the nurse came in to advise me that these final doses were just under 6,000 mg's I was shocked. Up from 3,750 ...that was quite a shock. No wonder my BP was taking a hit!