What I Said Then:

Just when we think we know what to expect, and even when we expect the unexpected, the unexpected happens and changes our expectations. I award 2 Blog-Points* to anyone who made it through that sentence in one take without slowing down or furrowing their brow.

Today was supposed to be a big day, I was supposed to have an IV Port installed in my chest (it’s pretty much what it sounds like) and then have my first chemotherapy treatment. Neither of those thing are happening today, though we are still meeting with the oncologist.

I had a blood draw on Friday in anticipation of my IV Port installation procedure. Part of the purpose of the test was to ensure that my blood clots normally. Turns out it doesn’t.

The PTT Test (or Partial Thromboplastin Time) indicates the time that it takes your blood to clot. A normal result is 25-35 seconds. My result was 54 seconds.

The doctor asked me if I had a history of bleeding, or if I had ever noticed that my blood took a long time to clot. I didn’t have much to offer since I’ve spent most of my life trying to avoid cutting myself. It’s just a general policy that I’ve had, and it’s served me pretty well so far. Additionally, in past when I was bleeding, I can’t say that I ever took the time to grab a stopwatch. ‘Cause… you know… I’m bleeding.

So, instead of going forward with the procedure today and starting chemo I am having a number of additional blood draws to test for a “bunch of other stuff” (I think that’s the scientific term) to try and figure out why my blood isn’t clotting normally.

When I told my parents of the change in plans my mom let me know that her blood has always clotted slowly and that there is a history of hemophilia on her side of the side of the family. So maybe that’s just the way I’ve always been and I’ve never experienced a traumatic enough injury for it to have ever been noticed or documented? That’s what I’m hoping for.

We’ll find out what’s going on and we’ll update you whenever we have a new time line in place for starting treatment. Probably later this week, or early next week.

*(Blog points cannot be redeemed for cash. Must be 21 or older and must have valid photo ID. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Non-transferable. Offer void if sold. Points must be earned within 24 hours of initial Blog post. Points are not real.)

What I Say Now:

Updated 1 Year Later – October 5, 2011

I still don’t really know what to say about that failed blood clotting test. It was such a blip that I had actually forgotten about it until re-reading it here.

When we met with the doctor a few days later I told her what my mother had said. She was intrigued, but said that I would have known by now if I was a hemophiliac. And that was that.

We never really talked about it again with my doctor, and after two chemo treatments in my arms (one left, one right) we just moved forward and put the port in. I don’t even recall whether or not I did another clotting test.

One thing was for sure though. You can never know what to expect with cancer. It became a theme once I started chemo as well. Every treatment was different, in the way that I reacted, and in the way my body responded. We would try to prepare for things, but it was rarely ever the same experience twice.

Expect the Unexpected!!