...still means I'm moving forward :)
Well the big news, for those of you who haven't heard, is that I'm not in remission as hoped. I did receive some good news at my doctor's visit last week but I also had some set-backs.
The good news:
- My chest tumor that they thought would never go away is almost completely gone. It went from the size of a grapefruit to 2 small pea-sized masses. These 2 spots will need to be biopsied at some point in the future.
- All of the area around my heart, lung and neck lymph nodes have completely healed.
The setback:
- There is a new mass the size of a nickel in my upper left lung. This was on my first PET scan before I started chemo but it had disappeared by the second scan (8 weeks ago). It has now re-appeared and is showing a lot of activity. It is very odd for this to happen but not out of the realm of possibility. My doctor reviewed my case with a board of all of the oncologists in the area and by just looking at my scan they would have diagnosed me as a 65 year old smoker with lung cancer. Since that is obviously not the case however it has caused some alarm :) My doctor is very aggressive at treating me and is sending me to an interventional radiologist for a lung biopsy tomorrow at noon. I will then meet with him Wednesday morning to find out the results (less than 24 hours later!).
My doctor is hoping it is a fungal infection which they can treat with oral medication. He believes however that it is likely rogue Lymphoma cells that somehow survived the chemo and relocated to my lung. If this is the case I will be put on another chemo regime. This one, R-DHAP, is even more aggressive than the one I just completed, R-CHOP. I will be hospitalized for several days and given the chemo there. I will also have a bone marrow transfusion. They will first remove some white blood cells, then they will give me the chemo, then they will inject me with my white blood cells.
The lung biopsy tomorrow will be similar to to the one they did in the hospital in September. They will sedate me but not put me out, take a super long needle and poke through my chest into my lung and take some of the tissue out of the nickel-sized "hot spot". They are about 80% certain they can get a sample from the spot. If they can't, they will put me out and go a more invasive route. Out of all of the procedures I had done in September, I remember this was really the easiest. It only took about 30 minutes and it was really not painful. They only make a small incision and recovery wasn't a big deal. I'm glad they're not doing another bone marrow biopsy! The worst part of this is that my appointment is at noon and I can't have anything to eat after midnight or anything to drink (not even water) after 6am. That's always the hardest part for me!
The fun stuff:
I completed an agricultural course this weekend and am halfway there to becoming a certified beekeeper :) Mom & Dad also helped me with some projects around the house...my shower filter is installed, my chicken coop door is fixed, the greenhouse is assembled, the rainbarrell is out!
Everyone keeps asking if I am ok; and, I am. I'll be honest, I am disappointed that this battle is not over. :) I was very much looking forward to this being over and me moving on, however, that is not the plan for now. This may be a relatively simple bump in the road or it could be a prolonged detour. Either way, I know my God is in control and I trust Him. I'm at peace with whatever happens, willing to take just 1 day at a time, and looking forward to what lies ahead :) This is just another situation where I wouldn't have picked this off a life menu but since it was picked for me and put on my plate, I know that I will also receive everything I need to handle it. Throwing a fit just makes the journey unpleasant. I'd rather accept the grace, joy and life lessons that comes along with it.
Thank you for your continued prayers!!!
Well the big news, for those of you who haven't heard, is that I'm not in remission as hoped. I did receive some good news at my doctor's visit last week but I also had some set-backs.
The good news:
- My chest tumor that they thought would never go away is almost completely gone. It went from the size of a grapefruit to 2 small pea-sized masses. These 2 spots will need to be biopsied at some point in the future.
- All of the area around my heart, lung and neck lymph nodes have completely healed.
The setback:
- There is a new mass the size of a nickel in my upper left lung. This was on my first PET scan before I started chemo but it had disappeared by the second scan (8 weeks ago). It has now re-appeared and is showing a lot of activity. It is very odd for this to happen but not out of the realm of possibility. My doctor reviewed my case with a board of all of the oncologists in the area and by just looking at my scan they would have diagnosed me as a 65 year old smoker with lung cancer. Since that is obviously not the case however it has caused some alarm :) My doctor is very aggressive at treating me and is sending me to an interventional radiologist for a lung biopsy tomorrow at noon. I will then meet with him Wednesday morning to find out the results (less than 24 hours later!).
My doctor is hoping it is a fungal infection which they can treat with oral medication. He believes however that it is likely rogue Lymphoma cells that somehow survived the chemo and relocated to my lung. If this is the case I will be put on another chemo regime. This one, R-DHAP, is even more aggressive than the one I just completed, R-CHOP. I will be hospitalized for several days and given the chemo there. I will also have a bone marrow transfusion. They will first remove some white blood cells, then they will give me the chemo, then they will inject me with my white blood cells.
The lung biopsy tomorrow will be similar to to the one they did in the hospital in September. They will sedate me but not put me out, take a super long needle and poke through my chest into my lung and take some of the tissue out of the nickel-sized "hot spot". They are about 80% certain they can get a sample from the spot. If they can't, they will put me out and go a more invasive route. Out of all of the procedures I had done in September, I remember this was really the easiest. It only took about 30 minutes and it was really not painful. They only make a small incision and recovery wasn't a big deal. I'm glad they're not doing another bone marrow biopsy! The worst part of this is that my appointment is at noon and I can't have anything to eat after midnight or anything to drink (not even water) after 6am. That's always the hardest part for me!
The fun stuff:
I completed an agricultural course this weekend and am halfway there to becoming a certified beekeeper :) Mom & Dad also helped me with some projects around the house...my shower filter is installed, my chicken coop door is fixed, the greenhouse is assembled, the rainbarrell is out!
Everyone keeps asking if I am ok; and, I am. I'll be honest, I am disappointed that this battle is not over. :) I was very much looking forward to this being over and me moving on, however, that is not the plan for now. This may be a relatively simple bump in the road or it could be a prolonged detour. Either way, I know my God is in control and I trust Him. I'm at peace with whatever happens, willing to take just 1 day at a time, and looking forward to what lies ahead :) This is just another situation where I wouldn't have picked this off a life menu but since it was picked for me and put on my plate, I know that I will also receive everything I need to handle it. Throwing a fit just makes the journey unpleasant. I'd rather accept the grace, joy and life lessons that comes along with it.
Thank you for your continued prayers!!!