I haven’t shared this aspect of my treatment yet, but there’s no time like the last time, I suppose.
Two days after I take my last “breakfast of champions,” I must self-administer an injection of Lapelga (pegfilgrastim), which helps my bone marrow produce white blood cells needed to help my body fight infection.
It’s one of those foolproof injectors that doesn’t require much skill – just jab it into belly fat and squeeze. Given I have an overabundance of belly fat, there’s no problem finding a suitable injection site.
The side effects are kind of strange, though. Because it stimulates the bone marrow, about 24 hours after the injection I get what can only be described as growing pains – that strange sensation we all felt as teenagers when our long bones were growing rapidly. It’s not painful, just strange and mildly unpleasant.
This is it. At this stage, I have no more treatment to take… just some bloodwork and a CT scan in about 6 weeks, with regular follow-ups every 3 months after that.
Done & dusted!