Chemo...here I come!

After meeting with Dr. D on Wed afternoon, I met with a vascular surgeon. This surgeon will implant something called a port-a-cath. (A friend of DH, who is a nurse, recommended we use a vascular surgeon for this rather than a general surgeon.) That procedure will take place on Thursday, June 2. It is a very simple procedure. Gee, where have I heard that before? And, when that is in place, chemo will start sometime the following week. I'm really apprehensive about the whole thing, but I'm ready to get this show on the road!

Dr. D sent me home with a handful of prescriptions. Two medications for nausea. One is phenergen, which I've taken before, and the other is ativan. He says I can take this for anxiety as well. He also gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer in case those phantom stomach pains come back. (I've had two bouts since the night I spent in the ER.) I also received a prescription for coumadin. This is a blood thinner. I'll be taken a very small dose to prevent the port-a-cath from getting blocked.

Dr. D spoke with us for a while about things to expect. The antibody/chemo-therapy treatments will take about 5 hours each time. Doesn't that sound like a hoot?! Some people have an allergic type reaction to the antibody, so I will get a dose of Benadryl, first. Then, the antibody treatment takes 4 hours, starting very slowly, and ramping up. Then, chemo takes 45 minutes.

If I'm going to get nauseous, that will be 2-3 days after the treatment. Then, after about 10 days, my red blood cell count will drop off, and I'll feel pretty lousy. This should only last a day or two. The prednisone may make me anxious and cause me to have trouble sleeping. It also might make me hungry, and cause some swelling. I may or may not lose my hair, but it will probably thin out. Those who know me, know that I have some I can spare. Dr. D also said that I may or may not stop having my period. THERE'S that silver lining I've been looking for!!!!

And, well, there you have it! That's what is coming up in the very near future! I'm having a great weekend with a houseful of family and friends, and I hope everyone else is, too. Love and God Bless you all!!!

Just Checking In!

Hello, everyone!!!!!

I've been a little bit lax in posting, lately, but everything is fine! I've just been enjoying all of the end of the school year activities with the children! (Ok, maybe enjoying is a little strong.) We've had parties and dance recitals, and we can't miss any of those. So, please forgive me for not being more up-to-date.

The doctor from Birmingham called last week, right on time. His pathology report had pretty much the same diagnosis. The only difference was his report had the cancer as a lower grade lymphoma. This, however, doesn't change the treatment plan, at all. He recommended that I begin my treatments in Huntsville, and he offered to see me again, whenever I wanted to come. (I really like that guy!)

I have an appointment to meet with Dr. D on Wed. of this week. This will be a second consultation with him, and, I assume, we will set the date for getting the port put in my vein. This will get the ball rolling! Not that I'm looking forward to it or anything, but I'd like to get it over and done with as quickly as possible!

On a sweet note...I got a package in the mail this past week from one of favorite relatives! She told me that she has been requesting prayers for me from all of her friends and church body. When she requested prayers from some ladies she works with, one of them shared a friend's survivor story with her. A few days later, this particular dear lady brought her a package, and asked my relative to forward it on to me.

The package was actually put together by the cancer survivor's wife! There was even a personal note to me in there! The package was full of material, including a book, on spiritual healing. It was a great, great gift. I send out my thanks to all of you who had a hand in getting it to me! You know who you are...I love you, all!

I will post more, soon! God Bless!

Second Opinion

The doctor (Dr. F) in Birmingham was a gem! We really liked him! He took a lot of time with us to explain all sorts of things associated with my "condition."

Just looking at my files, he agreed with the diagnosis. The only disagreement was in the form of treatment he would recommend. He recommends something called CHOP. (Dr. D, here is HSV, said that was over kill at this point.) Dr. F said that he would recommend it because the clinicals for CHOP were done at UAB, and they use it all the time in treating lymphoma.

HOWEVER, Dr. F explained that choosing between CHOP of CVP was kinda like choosing between Coke or Pepsi. Both are perfectly acceptable treatments, it just depends on the oncologist. He told us that if his wife went to Dr. D, and Dr. D said to use CVP, he would encourage his wife to follow Dr. D's instructions.

Dr. F is going to send my slides to his pathology department. (His pathologist is internationally known.) If the diagnosis is different from the one I already have, he wants me to come back to see him. If the diagnosis is the same, he'll advise me to continue on here in Huntsville.

There was some disagreement on the results of the bone marrow scan. Dr. F read it as being negative, while Dr. D said there were minute amounts. Dr. F said it didn't matter. Stage III and Stage IV are treated the same.

SO, in a nutshell...no good news, but no bad news, again. But DH and I felt so much better getting the second opinion. We'll wait one more week for the results from pathology in Birmingham, and then...AWAY WE GO!

God bless you, all!

Check out my War Wounds!

I went into the hospital on March 31st for a D&C and a laparoscopy to take a peek at the mass in my abdomen. "It's a simple procedure...shouldn't take longer than an hour." Four hours later, I wake up in post-op with two incisions, thirty nine staples, and a few stitches. Oh, and an NG tube in my nose.

The OB didn't like what she saw during the laparoscopy, so she called in a general surgeon. With DH's (dear hubby) permission, Dr. B used a C section type incision to take a closer look. When he realized he was looking at a lymph node rather than some part of my "female anatomy", he did another incision right down the middle to investigate further. Here's a picture of what I looked like after those staples came out...




28 of the 39 Staples

My kids thought the staples looked like a zipper when they were all lined up. My MIL teased me that I should get my belly button pierced with something resembling a zipper pull!

We are leaving for Birmingham this evening. The appointment for the second opinion is tomorrow. Please, pray for good news.

AND Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Return to Work

It's been a month! I went back to the world of engineering on Monday. For seven years, I have worked for the same company. Absolutely amazing people! I've always counted the owners in my blessings, for they are truly special people. I've worked three days a week for those seven years.

This week I returned to work with the schedule of four hours a day/every day. Seems like the perfect arrangement. I get the same number of hours as before, but I get plenty of rest each day. AND, as a bonus, I'm home with the children when they're there.

Unfortunately, I'm missing a day of work, already. I got to spend about four hours in the emergency room last night. I started experiencing horrendous stomach cramps! Double you over stomach cramps followed by incredible nausea. The same thing happened on Sunday, and we called the surgeon. He recommended we go to the emergency room, but within about an hour, the pain subsided. Last night, we made it to the emergency room, waited three hours to see someone, and in that time....pain was gone. The doctor did run some tests, but didn't find anything. Surgeon and ER docs mentioned scar tissue could be the culprit. How much fun does that sound?

But, anyway, I'm fine, today....just exhausted. I just rolled out of bed, and am in search of food.

Still haven't heard from the second opinion guy, but will take care of that before the end of the week.

God Bless!