Day -2

Microwave Man is at it again. These pics are of him being set up for his Radiation therapy. The Nurses have to replicate his exact position every time he gets zapped. There is a fair bit of preparation for these procedures including measuring, making moulds and tattoos. All up it can take up to an hour and a half to do a session, and most of that can be spent in preparation. 

Do you like Blue Hugs' sexy makeover? Thanks so much to Lozzy for looking after the visual aesthetics of this blog! It should be easier to leave comments too. 

I bet your dying to find out what is going on inside Shane's bone marrow while all this treatment is happening. Each day, Shane has a blood test (sometimes two!) early in the morning so they are analysed prior to the Drs arriving each day. From these blood tests we get a whole bunch of information about how Shane is coping with everything. The main ones we watch are red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils (neuts) and platelets. We also watch things like liver and kidney function to monitor how the vital organs are coping. 

With chemo and radiation, the aim is to almost eradicate the bone marrow (where your blood cells are produced). This results in a reduction in virtually all blood cell types. This causes a condition called Neutropaenia. Neutropaenia literally means "without neutrophils". The neuts are WBCs essential to immunity so Shane is monitored closely in their absence as he is at a great risk of infection during this time. Infections can vary from minor temperatures from an unknown source or they can cause a condition called septic shock. More on that later. This is the period of time that Shane will require regular blood products to keep him going. Unfortunately they can only give him RBCs and platelets, and not WBCs or Neuts. We just have to wait patiently for those!

Stem Cells are baby blood cells who don't know what they want to be when they grow up. As stem cells mature, they differentiate into RBCs or WBCs etc. So, when the donor stem cells are transplanted into Shane, hopefully they will find their way into his suppressed bone marrow and start differentiating and reproducing. This process is called engraftment.

Shane is starting to experience a sore throat and is having difficulty swallowing certain foods. This is one of the most unpleasant of all side effects for bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients and often leads to being put onto intravenous (IV) nutrition. Fingers crossed it doesn't get too bad! 

Peace xx