12/17/08 - MU - Intrathecal Chemo #2

Yesterday, Tuesday 12/16/08 around 4:30, I received my second dose of intrathecal chemotherapy. My father took the pictures. For my first Intathecal Chemotherapy post, I was smiling in one of the posts, and someone commented on that. Well, Uncle Bill, I'm smiling in a lot of these pictures, and so is Lisa, my Physician's Assistant (PA). Not to make light of my condition, but as you can see from the smiles, some very stressful moments... (not)


Shaving Reservoir area


Cleaning Reservoir area


Extracting CSF


Injecting Intrathecal Chemotherapy (click to enlarge)
As I mentioned in my first Intrathecal Chemotherapy post, because the CSF occupies a relatively small area, some is first drawn off, and then the chemo drug (depocyte) is administered. This time, Lisa drew off about 7mL of CSF. They tend to add back less liquid so there isn't an overall surplus, so just imagine that she added about 6mL of chemo drug.

The extra CSF is tested Microscopically (not possible via other imaging techniques) for cancerous cells that may be suspended and indicate a disease spread. Lisa gave me the test results of the last CSF sample (collected 12/04/08), and it was negative for cancerous cells. Good news...

Oh yes, Carson, I did ask why they administered more traditional chemotherapy before this new round of intrathecal chemotherapy. The reason was because early on, my CSF showed no potential spread of the disease within it. So they had no reason to approach my treatment from that angle...