First day of Chemo

Today Ellen and I reported to the hospital for my first day of chemo. I'll be getting 6 to 8 treatments - one every 3 weeks or so based upon a number of factors. All I can say is, I hope they all go like this one. We got there at 7AM and waited while the first batch of drugs was mixed. The pharmacists don't prepare the drugs until you show up. By 8:30 I was seated in the infusion room and getting my pre-meds, which are given to reduce nausea and prevent allergic reactions. While this was going on our nurse gave us a lot of information and advice - she was most helpful. By 10AM I was getting rituxin. It took about 4 hours to infuse 600 CC's, they start it very slowly and then gradually increase the flow rate if you don't react. This drug is a mono-clonal antibody which hooks up with the cancer cells and kills them. Unfortunately it does the same for mature white blood cells. After this I received 3 more infusions of chemo drugs and was finished by 3:oo. Tomorrow I get a shot of Neulasta to pep up white cell production. So chemo was 6 hours of sitting in a chair while the I.V. dripped, reading, doing crosswords and eating. I just hope the other sessions go as smoothly!
Ellen was there the whole time, handing out food and drinks - she is definitely the support arm of this operation. At the end of the day I think she was more tired than me. Now that we have a schedule and things are happening she can relax a little.
Now we're hoping that most of the many side effects will not materialize, but that is a wait and see. I seem to have a drug for all the situations.
I also got out for two days of fishing with Dan this week, but as trout streams are the opposite of distilled water, looks like fishing will be off limits until I have a good white cell count.

A visit to the Doctor

On Friday we went to Fox Chase to meet with Dr. M, who is directing my care, He spent an hour+ with us, asking questions, doing an exam, then reviewing the diagnosis and the treatment alternatives. As I previously noted, it looks like slow growth follicular lymphoma. However there are some confusing signals as an earlier core biopsy showed cells indicating a more aggressive type of cancer - and it is possible for the slow growth to change to aggressive. Our decision is to go with r-chop, which is an aggressive chemo regimen. It's a better safe than sorry decision, which I am comfortable. This will start Friday the 27th and go on everey three weeks for 6 to 8 weeks. You can watch this page for pictures of 'Bob the bald' as I will most likely lose all my hair. It should grow back, but could be a different color and texture. Blond and curly, anyone? I may be without my protective mustache for the first time in 40 years. Ellen will finally get to see the big purple wart om my upper lip (that's a joke).
Otherwise, I feel better than I have in a while - have been much more active, getting some exercise and fresh air, no fishing yet but my friend Dan and I have been out scouting the waters!! Had a nice visit with my sister Susan and my brother in law Brian, went out to eat, etc.
Thanks to all who have called and sent cards. I really love to hear from people and hope to see you all one of these days. I especially appreciate Ellen and the boys, and all the health care professionals who have done a great job.

Best wishes,

Bob

Getting There

Today was a day of follow-up. Visit the surgeon to check my progress after the back to back biopsies. Get an ultrasound of my legs to make sure I don't have any blood clots. Chase down my pathology slides, which were going to the wrong hospital, get them to take to right hospital. A lady called me on my phone and asked if I was Sovereign Bank? the security guard at one hospital asked me if I was a biopsy? I think I'm still me. Tomorrow looks like a lighter day, just one visit to Fox Chase to deliver the slides. If their pathologist is OK with them and concurs on the diagnosis then we can get started on some treatment. Navigating through the medical system is not easy, you have to ask, ask and ask. No is not an acceptable answer. But be nice at the same time.

Ellen rode downtown with me to Temple to get the slides, then we went out to dinner, I even had a Guiness! High times! At least I have a good excuse to eat red meat - need the iron.

A Diagnosis

Looks like the lymphoma I have is called 'low-grade lymphoma'. This is a slow growing lymphoma that can be retarded by chemo, but is not curable except by a donor bone marrow transplant. It normally shows up in older patients, life expectancy is 10 - 15 years. At this point I'll be getting chemo, the BMT is off on the horizon somewhere. I'm glad we went through all of the biopsies - painful but we do have a result. Dr. G was very vigilant and pushed to have this done, as our other Dr. was out with a family emergency, this kept everything going so we did not lose any time. Supposedly this chemo is not as toxic as the other ones, and there are some different options which we will be learning about. The pathology report was done at Temple U Hospital, now Fox Chase will review their results and the treatment will start.
Ellen got to go to work today, that makes two days in a row. She has been a great help!

First Post

I have spent a lot of time talking with friends and family about my ongoing (hopefully finalized soon) lymphoma diagnosis. I thought it would be useful to all if I created a blog so anyone interested could check in and see how I'm doing, what's going on, etc.

This week I had two biopsies, the first was not a success but the second, after 3.5 hours on the table, produced two nodes the pathologists can use. After all that surgery I'm feeling like the tomato in the Vegamatic commercial - sliced and diced! But we're hoping we'll get the final diagnosis soon and get going with treatment. I'll be going to the Fox Chase Cancer Center for treatment. It's a world famous hospital, and only 10 minutes from home. So far I've been blessed with some great doctors and nurses who have been fantastic. As things happen, I will be keeping you posted.

Ellen has been wonderful - she just can't do enough. I'm so lucky to have her by my side.