Friday, July 15, 2010

We returned to Dr. Vandermolen for the results of the scans and bone marrow test.  Enlarged nodes were found in my neck, under both arms, in my chest, none in my groin and in 5-10% of my bone marrow.  He said that he would not call that leukemia, since it was such a small percentage.  I am considered Stage 4, and though this was not necessarily good news, we felt that it was the best news out of a potentially bad situation.

I’m enclosing part of an email that Blair sent out, because I thought that she did a particularly great job of explaining how he staged my cancer.  It’s one you can hear and easily forget, but “seeing” the explanation is much easier.  From Blair - 

*stage: she is stage 4, but let me explain...
most people think of the "stage" as the life sentence. it's not... maybe with breast cancer, or
other more serious cancers, but with lymphoma the stage is the way you qualify the location
of the cancer.

stage 1: in 1 lymph node
stage 2: in more than 1 lymph node on 1 side of diaphragm {upper or lower body}
stage 3: more than 1 lymph node & on both sides of diaphragm
stage 4: more than 1 lymph node & in another organ {spleen, bone marrow, lungs, etc.}

*while my mom is stage 4, she only has cancer in some of the lymph nodes in her upper body which makes her only stage 2, but they did find about 5-10% cancer in her bone marrow {while that's not much, it automatically makes her stage 4, even though it's not in her lower body lymph nodes}.

I have to say, that being caught in this “limbo” of not knowing what was coming was hard to handle.  I felt that when we received the results, we finally had something to work with and “the plan was coming together”!   I really do so much better knowing what I have to deal with and getting on with it than I do living in uncertainty.  Also taking one day at a time, instead of worrying a week or month in the future just works so much better for me.

i knew that I was going to have chemo on 3 week cycles and I was busy with my calendar trying to figure out how ‘I’ was going to be available at important times for school and if Terry would be able to attend a really important industrial show in Chicago.  It turned out that God had it all planned - not to worry!  It’s hard to let go of things that you’re normally responsible for and school is such a part of who I am, that it was a huge concern for me.  Letting this stuff go isn’t easy!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

I returned to OCOH and had PET/CT scans all done by one machine, which is apparently state of the art and only one of a few in Southern CA.  Piece of cake!

Monday, July 12, 2010

     Today was my first appointment with a specialist (the first of 3).  I was a little nervous - stomach was a little flippy, but knew that this was the first day on my road to recovery.  I feel that God had been instrumental in me seeing Dr. Vandermolen as the doors opened so quickly under sort of unusual circumstances.

When we found out about my situation, Blair mentioned my lymphoma to some friends at work to see if they would put my name on their prayer lists at their churches.A young woman named Ali overheard the conversation and told Blair that her mom had lymphoma and had been in remission for 5 years - said she was willing to talk to anyone about her experience and was sure she would refer me to her doctor, who she thought was terrific!

Though I still have not met Denise in person, we have talked and texted and I called her doctor right away.  She was such an emotional boost for me, just to talk to someone who sounded so encouraging and she had been there!

Terry, Blair and I met Dr. Vandermolen at Orange Coast Oncology and Hematology {by Hoag} at 5:00 p.m.  He spent lots of time explaining his approach to my case based on the results from the biopsy and answered questions that we had at that point.  I have non-Hodgkins Lymphoma which is slow-growing and while I may have it for the rest of my life, the treatment is highly successful.  He examined me and found enlarged lymph nodes in my neck, under my arms, and in my right groin, but the CT/PET scans and bone marrow test would prove conclusive. 

The 3 of us were unanimous that we wanted him as my physician, so I had a bone marrow test and we were on our way!  I cancelled the appointments with the other 2 doctors.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

We saw Sam Parsons and his wife, Colleen, at church yesterday.  Pastor Rod was on vacation so Sam gave the sermon and led worship.  We enjoy him so much and admire their faith in trusting in God to support their ministry to nursing homes.  He’s a former bar singer, with guitar, who started singing for the Lord when he got saved.  They’ve raised their kids and put them through college without a “paycheck”.  Pretty amazing!  They were very uplifting and fun to talk and pray with and suggested that writing a blog would be both helpful to me and to others who might care to follow my progression toward wellness.

That evening, John and Susie, our neighbors next door had us and Blair (whose husband was out of town) over for a great dinner out on their patio. Afterwards, we sat around their fire pit - it was the perfect night and we came home smelling like a bonfire!