AML: Waiting for Nadir...

I've said that this chemo is a waiting game. In my case, as long as I can avoid infections when my blood counts are low, this trip through should be pretty uneventful. So right now I find myself waiting for nadir...

Nadir means the lowest point. In relation to my chemotherapy, it's the term given to the point at which my blood counts hit their lowest point. It generally should happen at about 10 days after my chemo (give or take).

So what is happening in my body right now? The chemotherapy drugs are going after my rapidly dividing cells. Since cancer itself is rapidly dividing, the point of the chemo is to kill every last cancer cell in my body. Other (healthy) rapidly dividing cells are getting caught in the crossfire like hair, skin, and digestive cells. Since I am dealing with Leukemia (cancer of the blood and bones), we're also talking about white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

While, I can live with out hair, I can't live without white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets. So nadir is a very important thing. As I get closer to nadir, my body is still unable to produce these cells. I lose the ability to fight infection (white blood cells), carry oxygen through my body (red blood cells) and for my blood to clot (platelets). If needed, I receive blood or platelets to get me through this period until my body starts producing these cells again.

My next milestone is nadir, which should be sometime in the middle of next week, until then... we wait and deal with whatever side effects may come up.