Deepika's Diary
8 MAY 2000
Day 11
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I had a miserable morning due to a bout of Nausea!!!
The rest of the day was fine although my hands and feet burn a lot. This is the after effects of chemo and radiation.
I cruised the corridors twice today. No other eventful things happend today.
One thing worth mentioning is that my white blood cell count went up a little from 0.1 to 0.2. There is reason for all the excitement.
Here's a little explanation:-
Normal white cell count is between 4 to 10. White cells are infection fighting cells so in my case I am vunerable to all sorts of bacteria and viruses which cause me to get fevers and infections.
When I was diagnosed with leukemia my white cell count was 157. This is because white blood cells that did not develop fully became too numerous and cancerous. Hence leukemia is the cancer of the white blood cells.
Chemotherapy and radiation are used to destroy the cancerous cells but destroys good white cells too. That is why my white cell count goes to near zero. But in order to receive a bone marrow transplant my white cell count has to be near zero anyway.
After the transplant it takes about 10 to 14 days for the new healthy white cells to start producing, but it is a slow process.