WBC (White Blood Cell) is 10.41 – slightly above the normal range. Platelets are 216 (normal range 150 – 450). I continue to feel good. The latest news about by blood infection is that the bacteria are kind of wimpy, and the likelihood of needing to remove my port-a-cath is low. The next round of chemo, CODOX-M, the less brutal of the two regimens is due to begin on Monday as outpatient. On day 1, this regimen consists of the following:

• Rituximab. 375 mg per square meter. This is the expensive stuff that is grown from mouse cells. The measure 375 mg per square meter is how the dosage is calculated; from my skin area, or Body Surface Area (BSA). My skin area is calculated in turn using a formula that considers my weight and height. The following website has a calculator for BSA: http://www.halls.md/body-surface-area/bsa.htm So, using the default formula (Mosteller) and plugging in my weight (72.5 kg) and height (5’ 11”) I get a BSA of 1.91 sq m. This yields a dosage of 716.25 mg by my calculations. (Of course, I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV.)
• Cyclophosphamide. 800 mg/sq m.
• Vincristine. 1.4 mg/sq m.
• Doxorubicin. 50 mg/sq m.
• IT Cytarabine. 50 mg. The IT means that it is injected into the spinal cord. (IT = intrathecal)
• IT Methotrexate. 12 mg.

That’s it for day 1. I have a 3-ring binder that tells me what each of these things does, what the short term side effects are, and what the long-term side effects are. Having already gone through one round of CODOX-M and not having suffered any major side effects gives me more confidence that I can do round two, but I still need to remain vigilant.

There was a possibility that I could have been discharged today, but my intern stopped by just after noon to let me know that they were still awaiting results of the blood cultures. As I understand it, however, I will be discharged tomorrow, and the only question is whether I get discharged needing an infusion service for the antibiotics, or without needing antibiotics.