Out of the Playoffs

We played our league semifinal game and lost 5-3. Losing sucks.

Bone Marrow Biopsy II

I had my bone marrow biopsy at 7:30 in the morning. It went completely as expected - I was drugged up, so I skipped work, and was a little sore. My hockey team happened to have our first playoff game at 9:00 that night. I asked Dr. Weeks if I could injure myself any more by playing. He said no, and as long as I could withstand the pain, I could play.

That night, I downed a couple of Percoset and headed off to the rink to play. I was a little sore during the pregame skate, but once the game started and I got some adrenaline going, I was fine. I had an assist and was a +3 as we won 7-5 to advance to the next round.

Uh Oh...

So, not much had happened for the last few months. I had a PET Scan in November, and it indicated that something might be happening in the left mediastinum (the area in my chest where I had the mass before), but it was too small to tell what was going on, and Dr. Weeks recommended I wait for a couple of months and have another scan.

On February 14, I went in for another PET Scan, and made an appointment for March 6 to discuss the results. Well, on February 20, Dr. Weeks' nurse Scott called me saying that the doctor wanted to see me ASAP. Needless to say, I believed that was not a good thing. I made an appointment to see him the next day.

My mom and I went to the appointment today expecting bad news, and unfortunately that is what we got. The mass in my chest had grown back, suggesting a recurrence of the Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Dr. Weeks was not only concerned with the fact that it looks like the cancer cells came back, but with how quickly and aggressively it seemed to happen. He proposed that I would likely need a Stem Cell Transplant to fight them off this time, as it seems like the chemotherapy treatments would not be effective in completely eliminating the disease.

My mom and I spent about an hour with him, going over the basics - What is a Stem Cell Transplant? Why would I need one? Where would this take place? Long-Term Prognosis? I won't go over everything we talked about, but I have found that the Wikipedia page for Stem Cell Transplants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell_transplantation) is pretty thorough and clear, and is actually a pretty good source of info.

Anyway, we made plans to have another bone marrow biopsy the next week to determine if the cancer cells had spread to my bone marrow. That was set for next Wednesday, February 27. After the results of that, we can start to set up sort of a gameplan.

Checkup

Met with the doctor today for a checkup. It was nice walking into the Cancer Center, then walking out feeling great instead of like crap following a treatment. Everything went pretty normal. All of my blood work was great, and the exam showed no problems. I got a flu shot while I was there. I've got an appointment on November 28th for my next checkup. Between now and then I have to have another PET Scan to make sure everything is still good. Otherwise, the doctor's visit went well, and everything is looking great.

Getting Back to Normal

Even though I wouldn't have had a treatment last week, knowing that I am done has been such a sweet feeling. I feel like I am starting to get my life back, and knowing that I can start getting out and doing more things is so great.

I went down to the Bay Area this past weekend to visit Drew and Meals and Adam. We went to the Red Wings/Sharks game on Thursday (Wings won 4-2!), and played golf on Saturday - I played the best round of my life! Okay, so I still shot a 103, but I hit some of the best shots I've ever hit. We spent Sunday lounging around and watching football - my Lions beat Tampa to improve to 4-2 - and playing Guitar Hero. We finished up the weekend by watching Game 7 of the Red Sox/Indians series. It was a great trip.

I return to work tomorrow, and have lab work and a doctor's appointment scheduled for Thursday. I'm not sure what Dr. Weeks is going to tell me, but I'm just excited that I am going to walk out of there feeling great instead of feeling like crap...

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow

Last one! I had my twelfth and final treatment today. All the staff at the Cancer Center came in and sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" to me and gave me a bottle of Sparkling Cider. It was a nice gesture. I blushed big-time, while my mom started crying. The nurses all over there have been very sweet. They did deliver the bad news that I would have to leave the port in my chest for at least a year more, and come in every 4-6 weeks to have it flushed. Very disappointing, as it is kind of uncomfortable, and I can't wait to have it taken out.

The day itself went about as normal. I have my usual "reversal of fortune" after my treatment. I felt pretty good after that, and was able to each lunch - grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup - this afternoon. I went to sleep for a few hours, but woke up feeling absolutely horrible and lost my lunch. I wasn't able to keep anything down, so I wasn't able to eat dinner. I watched game one of the Rockies/Diamondbacks series, then SportsCenter before heading back to sleep.

Catching Up

I must apologize, as I have fallen way behind on my blogging. It has been a very busy last few weeks. Let's see if I can recap and catch everyone up...

My tenth treatment on September 13 went fairly well - about as planned. I plugged away through the weekend, and was able to put in almost a full day of work on the following Monday. I had a really hard time getting up in the mornings for probably about a week after the treatment, but overall by Wednesday I was pretty much back to normal.

On Tuesday September 18 I had exams on my heart and lungs to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and the chemotherapy drugs didn't do any life-threatening/altering damage. These tests were pretty simple, and the results came back with everything looking good.

I pretty much did a whole lot of nothing until Saturday the 22nd, when my nephew Judah had his third birthday party. It was out at Howard Amon Park by the river. It was very nice, but a little windy. I bought him a pair of roller skates, which was a great gift except he already had a pair. Oh well - that's why they have gift receipts!

On Monday the 24th, I actually got out and played hockey for the first time since February. Though I had fun, I'm not ready to play. I had no legs, and no stamina, and overall was a pylon on the blue line. I was hoping to try and play a couple games in the first couple months of the season, even while still finishing treatment, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll just make sure I am ready to roll by Mid-November.

Thursday September 27 I had treatment number 11 of 12. Unfortunately, it was probably the second worst treatment I've had. I vomited immediately after treatment again (not surprising), then went home and went to sleep for a while. I got up at around 6:00 PM feeling nauseous. I had some crackers and ginger ale to try and calm my stomach, but I couldn't even keep those down. It was a brutal night, as I couldn't even keep water down and got pretty dehydrated. I'm not sure what caused these difficulties, but I am certainly glad to be almost done.

I spent most of Friday sleeping, and napped on and off through football all day Saturday and Sunday. I felt crappy all through the weekend, but was at least able to eat and drink to stay nourished. I returned to work for a couple of hours on Monday, but struggled mightily and had to leave early. Tuesday I felt much, much better, and was able to put in full days the rest of the week.

There! Now we are all caught up. Overall, I am feeling pretty good. I am certainly ready to be done with all of this, and with only one more treatment scheduled, I can certainly taste it. I am just ready for life to get back to normal.