Hey everyone, thanks for reading. It's been a good couple of weeks. First, last Monday Meg and I had my consultation with the Radiologist and the process was better than expected. Starting the week of December 6th I start receiving daily doses of radiation for 2.5 weeks (weekends off). I should be done before Christmas.....nice. Additionally, because it's a shorter time table the side affects will be limited. Tiredness (I've only been tired for the last 2.5 years, so no biggie there), and I may get a sore throat that may last a couple of weeks after the last dose of radiation. I expected the sore throat part to be much more harsh, but because I'm only getting treatment for 2.5 weeks, the throat doesn't get too damaged. Lucky again. So today I go back in for a few hours and get tested (CT Scan), get some small tattoos so they know where to zap me each time, and get a body mold done so that I'm in the same position every time.
The second piece of good news came last week as well. Last Tuesday I went in for my PET Scan....this is the big one! The PET Scan tells me if the Chemo worked. For those who don't know....For a PET Scan, via an IV, I get a radio active trace put in me (nuclear something or other). I then sit in a dark and quiet room for 1 hour while it moves throughout my body. Then I get in the MRI-like machine for 25 minutes. That's it...no pain or anything like that....just boring. On Wednesday Dr. Yee called with the results....no abnormal tracer uptake, no abnormal metabolic activity.....in other words, the PET Scan was GOOD and I don't need anymore Chemo. Phew....I made it....YESSSSSS! There was a little scar tissue where the Lymphoma was, but that was almost expected and doesn't mean much.
So, even though my PET Scan was clear and the Lymphoma is gone, it's still highly recommended that I go through Radiation (and I will), as it can still raise the overall survival rate. Just to recap from an earlier post, in my situation, Radiation can help about 1 in 10 people, but they don't know who the "1" person will be.....so they recommend that everyone gets radiation (in my situation).
So from here I receive the radiation treatment, probably get another CT Scan when they're done. Then I'll basically see Dr. Yee every 3 months, doing a new PET Scan every other visit with Dr. Yee. I'll do that for a year, then it will gradually slow down.
Lyric Of The Day: "Life is beautiful, but it's complicated and we barely make it.....we don't need to understand, there are miracles.....miracles." (Vega 4, Life Is Beautiful)
That's it for now....I'll chat more during the Radiation.
Cheers
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
I made it!
Well, I'm all done. Last Friday I had my final Chemo session. It's been 3 1/2 months since I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma and though I'm not done with treatment, I feel as if I've made it over a major hurdle. I had 8 Chemo sessions, each one being worse than the previous, and overall, I'm very pleased with the way my body/immune system handled the bi-weekly poison. From the personal stories I've heard to the articles I've read online, I think I'm very fortunate to have not missed a day of work, to have not lost my hair, to have been a fully functioning father/husband as Meg and I brought Kenzie into this world. I really can't be happier with how things have gone so far.
Lyric Of The Day: "May the best of your today's, be the worst of your tomorrows" Jay-Z, Forever Young
This last session was the worst one yet. My mom was there to keep my company. It was really great that she was there, we played cribbage (which she won both times...dang it) and we played original Trivial Pursuit, which was interesting playing a game with questions from the 70s and 80s. It really is nice to have someone there to chat with as I mentally battle for 3 hours. I was nauseous most of the time there and there was a couple of moments where I thought I was going to throw up in the my seat. But, I dug deep and was able to hold it in. The final IV drug usually lasts 1 hour, but unfortunately, this time it accidentally got stuck on slow....and after an hour, the RN came over and realized the mistake and got it back on track. She was very apologetic as it did cost me extra 1/2 hour......are you kidding me? what are the chances?....this must have been a final test :) Mentally that was very challenging as I've had a difficult time counting down the minutes each session. It really sucked to add a half hour on at the end. After a tough 30 minute ride home, I walked directly into the bathroom and threw up. Darn! I nearly made it all the way through 3 months of chemo without tossing the cookies, only to lose it when I'm all done and in my own home. Oh well, better in my own bathroom then at the doctors office. I'm still very pleased with how everything went. The rest of the night was fairly rough and I just spent most of the night alone watching TV in bed. My mom stayed and made an amazing dinner for Meg and the kids. The last few days have gradually gotten better as these drugs work their magic and work their way out of my system. I'm done.....wooohooo!
Up next, a PET Scan in about 3 weeks, followed by a visit with Dr. Yee to analyze the scan. From there I'll be referred to a Radiologist where I will do 3 to 5 weeks of daily radiation. A few things were cleared up during this last visit with Dr. Yee. He's going to recommend Radiation regardless of what the PET Scan says. Radiation helps 1 in 10 patients who goes through it. The problem is, they don't know which 10% is affected by the radiation. The science is not there to tell them who will be helped or which specific traits or factors in a person will work well with the radiation. So....it's a guess. It's still my choice, and to me it's a no brainer. Ten percent is a big number and if I can increase the curability figures even a little...I'll do it. Dr. Yee is not a Radiologist so he can only speculate on the length of the treatment and how I'll respond to it. Tiredness, skin burns, throat swelling, and nausea are all potential side effects of radiation. Having said that, I don't think it's going to be as bad as the Chemo....so bring it on.
That's it for now, special thanks to the Lord for getting me through this....
Steve
Lyric Of The Day: "May the best of your today's, be the worst of your tomorrows" Jay-Z, Forever Young
This last session was the worst one yet. My mom was there to keep my company. It was really great that she was there, we played cribbage (which she won both times...dang it) and we played original Trivial Pursuit, which was interesting playing a game with questions from the 70s and 80s. It really is nice to have someone there to chat with as I mentally battle for 3 hours. I was nauseous most of the time there and there was a couple of moments where I thought I was going to throw up in the my seat. But, I dug deep and was able to hold it in. The final IV drug usually lasts 1 hour, but unfortunately, this time it accidentally got stuck on slow....and after an hour, the RN came over and realized the mistake and got it back on track. She was very apologetic as it did cost me extra 1/2 hour......are you kidding me? what are the chances?....this must have been a final test :) Mentally that was very challenging as I've had a difficult time counting down the minutes each session. It really sucked to add a half hour on at the end. After a tough 30 minute ride home, I walked directly into the bathroom and threw up. Darn! I nearly made it all the way through 3 months of chemo without tossing the cookies, only to lose it when I'm all done and in my own home. Oh well, better in my own bathroom then at the doctors office. I'm still very pleased with how everything went. The rest of the night was fairly rough and I just spent most of the night alone watching TV in bed. My mom stayed and made an amazing dinner for Meg and the kids. The last few days have gradually gotten better as these drugs work their magic and work their way out of my system. I'm done.....wooohooo!
Up next, a PET Scan in about 3 weeks, followed by a visit with Dr. Yee to analyze the scan. From there I'll be referred to a Radiologist where I will do 3 to 5 weeks of daily radiation. A few things were cleared up during this last visit with Dr. Yee. He's going to recommend Radiation regardless of what the PET Scan says. Radiation helps 1 in 10 patients who goes through it. The problem is, they don't know which 10% is affected by the radiation. The science is not there to tell them who will be helped or which specific traits or factors in a person will work well with the radiation. So....it's a guess. It's still my choice, and to me it's a no brainer. Ten percent is a big number and if I can increase the curability figures even a little...I'll do it. Dr. Yee is not a Radiologist so he can only speculate on the length of the treatment and how I'll respond to it. Tiredness, skin burns, throat swelling, and nausea are all potential side effects of radiation. Having said that, I don't think it's going to be as bad as the Chemo....so bring it on.
That's it for now, special thanks to the Lord for getting me through this....
Steve
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