Infusion three happened today quietly.
No drama. No reaction. No moment that demanded interpretation in real time. Just another chair, another IV, another set of vitals taken before the drug entered my system.
Before this infusion, my blood pressure was 111/73. Heart rate 73. Temperature 36.9. All of it comfortably within range. Not heroic. Not concerning. Just steady.
That steadiness matters more than people realize. It means my body is arriving at these infusions in a regulated state, not braced for impact.
But as always with cancer care, the story lives in the numbers that follow.
The Abnormal Flags—and What They Actually Mean
Several lab values continue to show as “abnormal” on paper. This is where it’s easy to spiral if you don’t understand how oncology teams read data. I want to slow this down for anyone following along.
Mean Platelet Volume (MPV)
My MPV remains outside the reference range. This does not mean my platelets are failing or that I’m at risk of bleeding. MPV reflects platelet size, not quantity. In treatment, a slightly abnormal MPV usually means the bone marrow is actively producing and cycling platelets. My platelet count itself is stable. That’s the number that matters.
Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH)
LDH is elevated. This enzyme rises with cellular turnover—muscle activity, inflammation, and tumor biology all contribute. Given my activity level, treatment status, and liver-dominant disease, LDH is expected to be noisy. It is not a standalone marker of progression. It’s a background signal, not a verdict.
Calcium
Calcium has dipped mildly below range at times. This is common during treatment and fasting, especially when labs are drawn after IV fluids. Total calcium is influenced by albumin levels and hydration. I have no neuromuscular symptoms, kidney dysfunction, or signs of metabolic instability. This is something to monitor, not react to.
PT/INR
My clotting times are slightly prolonged. This makes sense in the context of prior liver surgery, current liver involvement, and ongoing systemic therapy. Importantly, my platelet count is normal, albumin is stable, bilirubin is normal, and I have no bleeding symptoms. This is adaptive liver physiology, not failure.
CA 19-9
This marker remains mildly elevated. CA 19-9 is not a primary marker for colorectal cancer and is heavily influenced by liver and biliary dynamics. With liver-dominant disease, it becomes unreliable as a standalone signal. It’s tracked, but it doesn’t drive decisions.
What Has Not Changed
Equally important are the things that remain stable.
My blood counts are holding. Liver enzymes are not spiking. Kidney function is normal. ECGs continue to show sinus bradycardia without concerning changes—consistent with my baseline conditioning.
Clinically, I remain active. ECOG 0. I walk. I train. I recover.
Those are not side notes. They are the eligibility criteria.
What Infusion Three Represents
This phase of treatment is not about declaring success or failure. It’s about staying in the window long enough for meaningful evaluation to take place.
Infusion three is about tolerance.
- Am I stable enough to continue?
- Is my body cooperating?
- Are there early warning signs that would force a pause?
So far, the answers remain consistent.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- No.
The next real inflection point isn’t a blood test. It’s imaging and biopsy. Until then, these labs function as guardrails, not destinations.
Holding Steady
There is a discipline to living inside this stretch—where data arrives constantly but interpretation must remain measured.
- Abnormal does not mean dangerous.
- Elevated does not mean failing.
- Stable does not mean static.
Infusion three didn’t move the story forward. It kept it intact.
And right now, that is exactly where I need to be.