This Machine Killed Cancer

Shayne’s levels creeped up the tiniest, tiny bit today, which means that the stem cells are doing their magic (and will hopefully keep doing so). Nothing is certain until his counts get past a certain point, but it’s a baby steps in the right direction.

Since the last time I wrote, we talked to Shayne primary doctors and, in opposition to what the attending suggested, they don’t want Shayne to immediately move into getting a donor transplant. They think it would be more effective in two years when his body isn’t so stressed from all of the chemo and this current transplant. A whole lot can change in two years, but they’re planning on going ahead and typing him so that there won’t be as many hoops to jump through when/if that time comes.

HUGE thanks to everyone who’s recently become a part of the bone marrow registry and who have donated platelets. 

Good news: He’s allowed to have visitors now! Woo! You still have to scrub up, and you can’t hug Shayne, but we’d love to see your faces. There are a few rules: 

• Absolutely no visits if you’ve had the sniffles or feel like you’re getting the ick. It’s going around right now and even a normal run of the mill cold has the potential to be a big set back.
• Also, probably no visits if you’ve been around someone who’s been really sick.
• You by no means have to, but if you want to bring something to Shayne it *can’t* be fresh flowers, fresh or dried fruits and veggies, or anything with black pepper. 
• 12pm - 6pm are prime visiting hours, maybe a little bit later some days, but that’s usually when Shayne’s at his best.

That might sound kinda serious, but it’s really just: wash your hands, don’t be sick.

Send us an e-mail at thismachinekillscancer@gmail.com or text us when you’re thinking about stopping by just to give us a heads up.

Because honestly, we miss you. We really, really do.

Overall, today has been pretty boring. Shayne’s been sick most of the day, but that seems almost normal now. I’ve been working non-stop on a website launch for my job (I’m staying as close to 40 hours as possible even though I can’t always make it into the office) and trying to keep busy with other design odds and ends. 

After dinner I’ve researching spas and detox programs that Shayne can go to after he’s finished with treatment and radiation. Earlier in the evening, I went to a group for the caregivers on the floor. One of the other caregivers is taking care of her daughter who had non-hodgkins lymphoma, which relapsed a few years ago and more recently has turned into leukemia as a result of the toxicity of the chemo (I’m just sorta paraphrasing here, so this part might not be 100% medically accurate). 

There was a point in Shayne’s treatment where we had to decide to put all of our trust in Western medicine or take a risk that alternative treatments might help more than they would complicate his situation. His oncologist asked us to not include any supplements while he was actively getting treatment. Not because she doesn’t believe that they would work, but because they could change Shayne’s body chemistry and make false positives for other complications. We made the decision that we wouldn’t add anymore factors into the mix until after Shayne finished chemo. Then he relapsed as has been getting chemo ever since.

So as soon as he’s finished, we’re throwing the homeopathic book at him. We’ll be chugging kombucha with wheatgrass chasers. Swallowing handfuls of maitake pills. Doing bikram until our pores beg for mercy. Anything and everything to get the residual chemo + waste from the cancer cells out of his body. Be gone toxins!

Which is why I’m looking for all natural detox programs. If anyone has any suggestions, send us an email. I’d rather find a program based on a recommendation rather than pick one out based on a yelp review. Also, if it happens to be in a warm, sunny place that we could fly away too, well, that would just be an added bonus.