First Lab Results After Treatment

I had my first follow-up appointment with my oncologist. They do a blood draw before every appointment. The actual appointment was rather quick. I was clearly feeling better, no more fluid on the lungs, no breathing issues, heart rate normal, and I’m back to working out.

He asked about side effects from the drug, and I told him they had pretty much all gone away. The only lingering one is a minor rash on my upper body (back and shoulders) which shows up as tiny red dots on my skin. Fortunately, it is very minor and I don’t feel it (no itchiness). He ordered my next CT scan for June and our next follow-appointment after that. It seems our meeting cadence will be about every 6-8 weeks.

He mentioned the labs would be ready in about an hour or so and he would call me if he saw anything concerning. After I got home, I was able to view the labs myself through the online portal. My lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels had been 357 U/L back on March 28 which is way above the normal range. My current level was only 160 U/L which is right in the middle of the normal range. This is great news because LDH levels are a well-established market for tumor growth and cancer progression. Also, high LDH levels are strongly correlated with low survival rates. In fact, the doctor called me a couple hours after the appointment to tell me that my LDH had dropped and was in the normal range. He said that was very good.

Additionally, my Albumin levels also increased to be within normal range. Albumin is another blood marker that is strongly associated with cancer survival. With this one, higher is better.

It has been less than a month between these two visits and so it is still quite early. My hope is to lower my LDH further and increase my Albumin levels even more. I want to make a believer out of this oncologist so he can see I’m not some uninformed wishful thinker but rather someone who is making wise and prudent decisions based on proven research about my health through diet, exercise, and supplementation.

I write this entire post inside a hyperbaric chamber. As I get more results or if anything changes, I will post it here. I welcome all feedback or questions.

-Jeremy