Today, Dave received his first of four doses of palifermin. This medication is used to thicken the lining of the mouth to decrease the incidence of oral mucositis (mouth sores). He will receive this for the next 3 days through his Hickman (port). It only takes about 10 min. after he gets his lab drawn. Ralph Swanson came and picked us up last evening and took us to his and Kathy's home where Kathy BBQ'd burgers! Boy, did that taste good, and the company was great! We have really missed being able to grill. It's been a very relaxing day and we just got back from taking Ripley on a walk. The weather is nice, in the high 70's today, but is predicted to be getting hotter starting tomorrow. I understand that it never does get real hot here and, so far, has been very comfortable.
Dave and Jenn, I read about this drug for mucositis. I wondered why they didn't use it before. Hope it works, because the mucositis was the worst thing about the whole conditioning process. The good news is it only lasts until your stem cells kick in after the transplant. GlenH
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