Celica Blue and Lymphoma: The New Normal

Lookin’ good!

Celica Blue had her fourth chemo treatment this week. This time it was back to Vincristine, which was the first in the “CHOP” protocol.

Her white blood cell count had been a bit low, so we postponed the chemo for a few days to allow it to rise, which it did. However, Dr. Olmsted was thrilled with her progress. Her weight is fine, appetite and activity level are normal. She said she could barely feel the mass and said it was around 2 cm, down from 7.

So the new normal is the trip to Central Hospital every week or 10 days. Celica Blue is scooped up and dropped into the carrier (top-loading carriers are a must!). The trip to the hospital may or may not be accompanied by questioning meows from the back seat, but nothing too frantic – perhaps she’s getting used to that part of the routine.

The trip takes about 20 minutes. The techs at the reception desk know us now and it’s usually a short wait before we’re greeted and taken to the small oncology waiting room where the tech, Tara, weighs Celica, and we discuss how she is doing. That’s also become routine because she is doing well.

She’s then whisked away for the blood draw and I’m left to fidget. Then Dr. Olmsted comes in to discuss the results, which determine whether she receives the chemo, although for the Doxorubicin, she was squirmy and we had to return so she could be lightly sedated.

Regardless of whether she gets chemo, she receives an infusion of B12, which helps with absorption and is recommended as part of the cancer treatment.

We’re usually out in an hour or so and head for home. Is that a sigh of relief I hear from the back seat?

Once we’re home, she erupts from the carrier, shaking the leg that has a bandage on it from the treatment and chattering up a storm. The time my husband took her, she was waiting for me on the cat perch as I came up the stairs and told me, chapter and verse, what she had been through.

I’m afraid to look too far into the future. The initial diagnosis was so traumatic – it turned our cozy little feline world upside down. However, our new normal is being grateful that Celica Blue is acting normal.

The expenses continue with every trip, so donations are still welcome through the YouCaring.com page set up by Laurie Goldstein.

Part 1: Celica Blue and Lymphoma: The Journey Begins

Part 2: Celica Blue and Lymphoma: Two Weeks In
Part 3: Celica Blue and Lymphoma: Round 3