Wow...a retraction...on a personal blog!

Hi everyone:

Well, I guess I somehow misinterpreted some of the numbers from the past week--which became clear to me when Kathleen said, subtly, "That's all wrong, just so you know." So please allow me to clarify and update, based on the numbers we received today:

• Kathleen's hemoglobin currently sits at 8.6, down from 8.7 on the 18th and 9.0 on the 16th. The difference between and 8.7 and 8.6 doesn't seem that significant, especially when we've grown accustomed to much larger drops. Herein lies the confusion: somehow, I completely missed the 9.0 measure on the 16th, from which the drop seems more meaningful. We'd certainly like the numbers to be heading in the different direction, but at least they're not dropping like stones, and perhaps they'll soon respond to chemo, as have the platelets. So, for any confusion I may have created...oops, sorry.
• Kathleen's platelets are at 24 right now, a slight bump from 23 on the 18th and 13 on the 16th. I'm no expert, but I like to think if one measure jumps in the right direction, perhaps other numbers will piggyback on them.

That's the latest. We've been feeding Kathleen a couple times of late, so I can attest to the fact her appetite is healthy. I feel encouraged. More as we have it...

Love,
Brian