So Far, So Good

The only side effects so far have been a couple days of nausea which resulted in a temporary disinterest in food which he's since made up for. 

Also, J. didn't need any pain pills from Thursday morning until Saturday afternoon!

He's had the energy to work and enough of an appetite for some business dinners with co-workers currently visiting the States.

Knock wood that it continues like this!

Round One

J. survived his first treatment today with flying colors!  As our oncologist predicted, boredom was the primary side effect.  The "worst" reaction was Benadryl giving him restless legs and sleepiness, lol. Works for us!

We loaded up with a lunch and enough snacks and drinks to last through the day.  Good thing too, since we were there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We spent the day sitting in a nice little alcove separate from the main room.  (It pays to be the first patient of the day so you can lay claim to the prime location and you can bet that we scheduled the next appointment nice and early too.)

I kept track of each drug as it was hung and noted how fast each was being delivered through the IV.  The staff was cautious about each one since the medications are pretty heavy duty stuff with loads of possible side effects, especially the first time out.  I have to say that Laura, Tara, Karen and Sonya took good care of us all day long. 

We managed to complete two crossword puzzles, read our books, watch the construction zone below and occasionally doze off.  Son #2 even dropped by for a short visit on his way to work right around the corner which was a nice break in an otherwise uneventful day.

 We're home and the dogs were delighted to see us after being left alone for the whole day.  We're now following the recommendations to minimize any possible side effects for the next few days.  The bigger side effects usually show up after a week, but we're hoping that J. continues to sail through as nicely and trouble-free as he did today.  You can bet I'm watching him like a hawk to make sure he's following orders for meds, water, mouth rinse, meals.  


Now it's my turn to run a hot bath and enjoy a moment of relaxation just for me.  Which is made easier by the fact that he hasn't had anything for pain since 9 a.m. and is still feeling well.  Yippee!


Thanks for all your nice emails.  Keep us in your thoughts!


Hugs from both of us


 

Welcome to DoctorLand

Some background:  J. wasn't feeling well as long ago as August and then really began having issues with his digestive system in October.  

Naturally, as much as he's been traveling, at first he chalked it up to jetlag or the eastern European fiber-poor diet.  Eventually he thought it might be due to diverticulitis and started a clear liquid diet (the jello and bouillion kind that any hospital patient is regrettably familiar with) while he waited for his appointment with a gastroenterologist to finally roll around.  That brings us to the end of November.

The Physical Assistant he saw ordered a CT scan which showed extensive adenopathy (enlargement of the lymph nodes).  Combined with the digestive pain, he first suspected colon cancer which had begun to spread.  Not good at all.

So J. had a colonoscopy which came back clean, thankfully, at which point the P.A. suspected lymphoma. 

Next up was a CT-assisted needle biopsy right before Christmas.  The pathology report came back showing non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  Follicular small cell B, an indolent slow-growing lymphoma, to be more precise.  

(Did you know that now they tell you that you have cancer over the phone?  I guess that means cancer isn't the death sentence it once was.) 

At that point we were referred to the oncologist and sat back to wait what seemed like forever and a day for the initial appointment.  It seemed like a long time because J. went from discomfort to pain, from no medication at all to needing full strength Tylenol, from a good night's sleep to restless, interrupted nights.

We saw the oncologist, whom we like, in mid-January.  Dr. Bowman wondered if the increasing pain meant that J. had a more aggressive form of lymphoma than the biopsy indicated.  So it took more time for him to find out from the radiologist exactly how big a tumor "extensive" meant and decide if another biopsy was needed to get a wider same of the cells.

(Sheesh, I expect a fourth-grader to be vague in a report, but not a doctor.  And when we found out that "extensive" meant four by eight centimeters, or about the size of two golf balls, I wasn't happy at all that he hadn't been more specific.  Grrrr.)  


Given the size of the tumor, the oncologist contacted a surgeon to perform another biopsy.  We were eventually scheduled for a consult in early February.  Meanwhile J. had to have a CT scan of his upper abdomen to ascertain if any other lymph nodes were involved.


Long story short, the surgeon wasn't comfortable with the retro-peritoneal site that the biopsy would need to reach and the CT scan showed no change in tumor size over the five weeks between the first and last scans.  So J. and the oncologist decided that the original biopsy was more than likely right (the fact that the pain responded better to anti-inflammatories rather than codeine seems to fit the slow-growing model too--just another piece of the puzzle) and to start chemotherapy as originally planned.  


That brings us up to tomorrow Thursday the 26th--chemo round one!  

It's a multi-pronged attack involving four drugs in combination. The current plan is for six treatments, one every three weeks.  Reading about these nasty but effective chemicals is a little scary and we're hoping the oncologist is right that the side effects will be minimal.  Realistically, we know that a major upheaval is about to hit us.


That's it for now.  Time to put together a backpack filled with food, drink, books, magazines (and crafts for me) to take to the infusion center tomorrow.  What a way to take a day off work!

Welcome to The Diagnosis

The short version:

J. has non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  It's a slow-growing cancer of the lymph nodes.  It's not curable in that it can't be nuked into submission with radiation or removed by a surgeon. Our oncologist explained it as a fluid tumor--so it's impossible to operate and remove every single watery molecule and pronounce him cured.

It's slow growing instead of aggressive and so is considered more of a chronic condition that will need treating as symptoms appear.  J. has been having pain, that's a symptom, that's why chemo is starting.  

The good news is that the chemo can make a big difference very, very quickly.  We'll be keeping our fingers crossed.


Good thoughts, positive energy, sincere prayers and burnt offerings all accepted with gratitude!

 

It's a Girl!

There are a lot of wonderful "firsts" in life, but learning that you're going to be grandparents has to be one of the best! Here's her first ultrasound:

Originally Pierre and Deni wanted to be surprised when the baby arrives in mid-June, but then discovered that all the cutest nursery outfits were for those who knew whether they were having a boy or a girl. I had a feeling that Miss D would cave when shopping entered the picture!

So I'm gearing up for pink, ruffles and lace.  As in lace-bottomed onesies.  Pink quilts.  And little white baby sox with ruffled edges.

I'm not used to girly stuff, so this is a treat!  Now the important question--what grandma name do I want to go by?