Well, we finally have a date. This evening, Dr. Weeks called me to tell me that he got the results of the tests. My heart still looks very healthy, and all of the infected lymph nodes are above the diaphragm. This is what we hoped for, and what we expected.
On Monday, June 2, I will check into Kadlec to begin treatment. Dr. Weeks wants me at the very least to have my first treatment in the hospital. We are in fact doing the "drip" treatment, where the drugs are fed to me slowly over a four-day period rather than all at once like last year. Because I haven't done that before, he recommends that I at least start with that process and see how I feel. And of course who am I to argue? So at 10:00 AM on Monday, I will head into the hospital and probably be there until Friday or Saturday.
I'm glad to be getting this process going. I've been feeling really crappy over the last few weeks. I've been really tired, and my back, chest, and arms have been hurting, especially over the last few days. I actually had really, REALLY bad back and shoulder pain last night while trying to fall asleep. I'll be happy to get this process going so I can sleep better...
I went to a bar with a couple of people from work to watch the Red Wings' game three against Pittsburgh and the Pistons' game five against Boston. Unfortunately both teams lost. The Wings played okay (not great and not terrible), and I still expect them to win their series and hoist the Cup. Unfortunately I think the Pistons are toast. They were absolutely horrible in the third quarter, and though they rallied, it really wasn't the effort you'd expect from a potential championship contender.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Where Everybody Knows Your Name...
I had my echocardiogram and my PET Scan today. This was the fourth PET Scan I've had in the last 9 months, and now the staff there all recognize me. It is like Cheers when I walk in there. Everyone knows me by name, and asks how I'm doing. They know I prefer to have the blood draw in my left arm, I need two Xanax instead of the regular one to calm down, and even that I snore when I fall asleep in the MRI tube. Dr. Weeks expects me to have PET Scans every three months for the next few years, so I guess I should get comfortable there.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Convenient Scheduling
At around 9:30 AM I received a phone call from the people to schedule me for my echocardiogram. I wanted to take care of it before I went up to British Columbia this weekend, so I scheduled it for Thursday at 11:00 AM. Almost as soon as I hung up the phone, Kadlec called me to schedule my PET Scan. Not only that, but they were able to squeeze me in on Thursday as well, at 1:00 PM. So I will be able to take care of both of these tomorrow. I think that could end up enabling me to start my treatments a week earlier. We will see...
Monday, May 19, 2008
On to the Cup Finals!
Dr. Weeks called me this evening to let me know that he had spoken to Dr. Petersdorf. Dr. Weeks was very excited that we are all on the same page, and is eager to get this show on the road. Dr. Petersdorf still wants me to have an Echocardiogram and a PET Scan, so I will still need to get those done. Dr. Weeks expects that the "Echo People" as he called them, will call me tomorrow to schedule that test, and the coordinators of the PET Scans will call me later in the week.
Dr. Weeks consented that the "4-day drip" treatment is the way to go. Now, Dr. Petersdorf had laid out that even though this is a continuous 4-day treatment, it could still be out-patient, as I would just carry around a walkman-like device to give me the drugs. However, Dr. Weeks thinks (at least at the start) that I should plan on this being in-patient. We will see how that works. In the meantime, I just need to get the two tests scheduled, then go from there.
In the evening, I watched the Wings finish off Dallas and move into the Stanley Cup Finals. Dallas put a little scare into me, especially with their performance at The Joe in game five, but we prevailed, and now tackle the Penguins in the finals. I'm expecting this to be a very competitive series, but of course I expect the Wings to come out on top. We have too much firepower, and too much experience to let this get away. And the Pistons get going in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston tomorrow night! What a great time to be a Motor-City Sports Fan! (Except for the colossal disappointment that is the Tigers...)
Dr. Weeks consented that the "4-day drip" treatment is the way to go. Now, Dr. Petersdorf had laid out that even though this is a continuous 4-day treatment, it could still be out-patient, as I would just carry around a walkman-like device to give me the drugs. However, Dr. Weeks thinks (at least at the start) that I should plan on this being in-patient. We will see how that works. In the meantime, I just need to get the two tests scheduled, then go from there.
In the evening, I watched the Wings finish off Dallas and move into the Stanley Cup Finals. Dallas put a little scare into me, especially with their performance at The Joe in game five, but we prevailed, and now tackle the Penguins in the finals. I'm expecting this to be a very competitive series, but of course I expect the Wings to come out on top. We have too much firepower, and too much experience to let this get away. And the Pistons get going in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston tomorrow night! What a great time to be a Motor-City Sports Fan! (Except for the colossal disappointment that is the Tigers...)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Seattle in Spring
I had my consultation at the Hutchinson Seattle Cancer Care Center, or "The Hutch" for those in the know. I met with Dr. Stephen Petersdorf in the afternoon with my mom and Melissa by my side. I originally talked a couple of months ago with Dr. Effie Petersdorf (I can only assume they are husband and wife), one of the transplant specialists there. But now that it is likely that I will not need a transplant, I was sent to see a lymphoma specialist. Enter Dr. Stephen Petersdorf.
Anyway, Dr. Petersdorf was quite friendly, and explained things very well. After a physical, he described how I ended up in this predicament. There are four different markers that they use to identify what kind of lymphoma I have. Hodgkin's Lymphoma is positive for two of the markers, and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is positive for the other two. Well, my biopsy last year indicated positive markers for three of the four. Still all experts agreed that this looked like Hodgkin's Lymphoma, so that's the direction we went. Well, it proved to be more of a hybrid "gray-zone" lymphoma, and this time, I actually was positive for three of the four markers, but one of them was different!
Anyway, Dr. Petersdorf agreed that the R-CHOP treatment plan was the way to go, though he did express one concern. One of the drugs in the treatment program is called "Adriamycin." This was actually one of the drugs in the treatment from last year. Well, this drug is proven to have some serious cardiac side effects if too much is taken too quickly, and two summers of chemotherapy with this drug worried Dr. Petersdorf. But he thought that by going to a 4-day "drip" treatment where I receive drugs slowly but steadily over four days rather than all at once, I could reduce the risk of side effects. He also said that he expected that Dr. Weeks could perform the treatments in the Tri-Cities, so I wouldn't have to relocate to Seattle for an extended period of time.
Dr. Petersdorf planned to call Dr. Weeks on Monday and dicuss all options. In the meantime, he wanted me to have an Echocardiogram to see how my heart is doing, plus another PET Scan to see if the cancer cells had spread. So, I continue to wait, though it looks like we are getting closer to making things happen.
Anyway, Dr. Petersdorf was quite friendly, and explained things very well. After a physical, he described how I ended up in this predicament. There are four different markers that they use to identify what kind of lymphoma I have. Hodgkin's Lymphoma is positive for two of the markers, and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is positive for the other two. Well, my biopsy last year indicated positive markers for three of the four. Still all experts agreed that this looked like Hodgkin's Lymphoma, so that's the direction we went. Well, it proved to be more of a hybrid "gray-zone" lymphoma, and this time, I actually was positive for three of the four markers, but one of them was different!
Anyway, Dr. Petersdorf agreed that the R-CHOP treatment plan was the way to go, though he did express one concern. One of the drugs in the treatment program is called "Adriamycin." This was actually one of the drugs in the treatment from last year. Well, this drug is proven to have some serious cardiac side effects if too much is taken too quickly, and two summers of chemotherapy with this drug worried Dr. Petersdorf. But he thought that by going to a 4-day "drip" treatment where I receive drugs slowly but steadily over four days rather than all at once, I could reduce the risk of side effects. He also said that he expected that Dr. Weeks could perform the treatments in the Tri-Cities, so I wouldn't have to relocate to Seattle for an extended period of time.
Dr. Petersdorf planned to call Dr. Weeks on Monday and dicuss all options. In the meantime, he wanted me to have an Echocardiogram to see how my heart is doing, plus another PET Scan to see if the cancer cells had spread. So, I continue to wait, though it looks like we are getting closer to making things happen.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Waiting Game
On Friday I heard from Jennifer Lindquist from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and they wanted to do another consultation, this time with Dr. Effie Petersdorf, the lymphoma "expert" over there. Obviously, the results of the biopsy were a surprise to everyone (A good one, mind you, but still a surprise...), and they want to sit down and discuss options now. I could turn down the consultation and just go forward with the treatment plan that Dr. Weeks laid out briefly last week, but I'd rather get all my options. We set this appointment for Friday May 16 at 1:00 PM.
They say hindsight is 20/20, but I certainly think back to last spring, and though everything seemed straightforward then, part of me wishes I had gotten more involved with the SCCA last year, and gotten a second opinion then. Though the results may have been the same, it seems I was misdiagnosed last year. All my results were sent to other doctors to look at, and everyone was in agreement, but they weren't sent there, and perhaps I should have been more proactive and looked into that opportunity then. Well, now that I have a "second chance", I am going to take the opportunity to make sure that we can kick this thing once and for all.
Melissa's parents came to the Tri-Cities for the first time this weekend, and we had an absolute blast. We barbequed on Friday night, had lunch at my parents' house on Saturday afternoon, dinner at Anthony's on Saturday night, wine tasting at Bookwalter on Sunday afternoon, then dinner at PF Chang's on Sunday night, followed by a nightcap at Kimo's. It was a really nice weekend, and a good time was had by all.
They say hindsight is 20/20, but I certainly think back to last spring, and though everything seemed straightforward then, part of me wishes I had gotten more involved with the SCCA last year, and gotten a second opinion then. Though the results may have been the same, it seems I was misdiagnosed last year. All my results were sent to other doctors to look at, and everyone was in agreement, but they weren't sent there, and perhaps I should have been more proactive and looked into that opportunity then. Well, now that I have a "second chance", I am going to take the opportunity to make sure that we can kick this thing once and for all.
Melissa's parents came to the Tri-Cities for the first time this weekend, and we had an absolute blast. We barbequed on Friday night, had lunch at my parents' house on Saturday afternoon, dinner at Anthony's on Saturday night, wine tasting at Bookwalter on Sunday afternoon, then dinner at PF Chang's on Sunday night, followed by a nightcap at Kimo's. It was a really nice weekend, and a good time was had by all.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Patience, Patience...
On Tuesday I had my appointment to see Dr. Cordero to make sure the incision from my biopsy was healing properly. He took the strips off, and everything looks good. There is a little bit of separation on the right end of the cut, but otherwise everything looks great. It is just a matter of time waiting for it to heal. In the meantime, I just need to keep it clean and dry.
We are still waiting to hear back from Dr. Weeks. He sent over all of my information to the Seattle Cancer Care Center, and they said they would get back to me in a few days. I talked with Scott (Dr. Weeks' nurse) and he told me he expects them to give me a call on Friday. Until then, I am going to kick back, relax, and watch the Red Wings kick the **** out of the Crapalanche! Break out the brooms!
We are still waiting to hear back from Dr. Weeks. He sent over all of my information to the Seattle Cancer Care Center, and they said they would get back to me in a few days. I talked with Scott (Dr. Weeks' nurse) and he told me he expects them to give me a call on Friday. Until then, I am going to kick back, relax, and watch the Red Wings kick the **** out of the Crapalanche! Break out the brooms!
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