Activity picked up today in spite of the heat here. To stay in the shade, Sharon led me on a city/urban walk, in a way that the buildings casted shadows on the sidewalks we traversed. It was nice looking into storefronts. 8,000 steps today over 3+ miles. That count included my walk up the hill to the clinic. My lab tests today were mostly in line with what we are expecting, although my WBC and ANC counts continued to fall a bit. That will continue to be monitored.

One new test that will be done this week, based on my reported fatigue, is to check my serum cortisol levels. The basis of this is that our adrenal glands are responsible for producing cortisol, which is needed for our fright or fight reactions to stress. I have been through this before as it is possible that the prednisone I had been given is suppressing my cortisol. After my 2019 CAR T experience that included high dose steroid treatments, this was diagnosed and for almost a year I was supplemented with low level cortisone. So, when I discussed this with my clinical team today it struck a chord with me. More on this to come.

I know my titles of these blogs are a counting up and down. As the number of bottles is reduced, it reminds me of a NASA countdown. As we get closer to zero bottles I have fingers crossed that there are no holds in the countdown. Tomorrow is another day, important as I am scheduled for my follow chest CT scan. Otherwise, hope you are well.

Larry and Sharon