The last few weeks have brought more ups and downs. Ken, thankfully, has shown great improvement. Powerful antiviral drugs have driven down the virus he was fighting, and I'm hoping the next time the doctors do a viral count, it won't be detectable. He's been discharged back into the Cancer Lodge, and is doing better with each passing day.
The doctors are trying to reduce his anti-rejection drugs, to get them down to as low a dose as possible. As awesome as the drugs are, there are serious side effects, so using as little as possible is in Ken's best interest. Aside from that, there is also the cost - Cyclosporine (Neoral) is very expensive. It comes in 25mg and 50mg capsules... and Ken is currently on 150mg twice a day (down from 275mg twice daily).
With the decreased dose of Cyclosporine and Prednisone, Ken is now experiencing Graft Verses Host. This is a bad thing, in that Ken currently has a very uncomfortable, itchy rash and his new immune system attacks his body. It is a good thing in that a) it's obvious, allowing the doctors to adjust his anti-rejection drugs, and b) in theory, his new immune system should hunt down and destroy any remaining cancer cells (I'm hoping that there aren't any, but if there are, I hope this GVH gets every last one).
I'm feeling very optimistic.
There have been times recently where I've been very unsure as to what the ultimate outcome was going to be for my husband, but now, I'm feeling very good.
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