I really should have titled this "Our Journey" since my wife of 45 years and great patience is on this journey with me. The title comes from my follow-up visit with the thoracic surgeon who did my chest biopsy. After all the technical discussion of my results and possible outcomes, he wished us "good luck on your journey". It was a very human sentiment that touched us both.
Some history first. It was in late October of last year that my back went out, and then developed into a very painful sciatica on my left side. After an x-ray and an MRI, I was diagnosed with a badly herniated disk. Two neurosurgeons both recommended a micro-discectomy to solve the problem, and one was scheduled for the week after Christmas. A pre-op chest x-ray showed a mass in the center of my chest and a CT-scan determined it was enlarged lymph nodes. The possible causes were lymphoma, an infection or inflammation. At this point I have to mention my younger son and his wife, both medical people who live on Cape Cod with our beloved grandchildren. They convinced us to have my testing at the Cape where my son practices, and in Boston as needed. They wanted to be able to help and guide us to the best treatment possible. They have been on top of this journey from the beginning. I couldn't be in better hands. My other three children and spouses have been with us all the way too, calling often to check up on me. Their love and support is as important to us as any treatment I may receive. We are also blessed with our wonderful extended families who have also cushioned us with their love and concern. And so many friends have expressed support and often helped us in tangible ways.
Fortunately, we have a small condo on the Cape where we'll be staying through my course of treatment. The first step was a bone marrow biopsy at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Thankfully it was negative. A few days later a biopsy was done here at the Cape on the nodes in my chest, and the result was lymphoma. So now I officially had cancer. The question was had it spread and if so how treatable would it be. Kind of an anxious time. A PET scan was scheduled at Beth Israel. The results could not have been better - the cancer had not spread beyond the chest. The diagnosis was Stage 2 diffuse large B-cell Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is a type of lymphoma common to older men like myself. Stage 2 is an early stage. This form of lymphoma (there are many) is curable and in my case the cure rate is quite high with chemotherapy. So I consider myself fortunate and am very optimistic for the outcome.
Chemotherapy was prescribed, an 18-week regimen consisting of six 3-week cycles of drugs and recovery. The first chemo session was at Beth Israel; the rest will be done at Cape Cod Hospital, about five minutes from our place. I was very happy to find out that a three week cycle consisted of four drugs being infused on the first day, about five hours at the hospital, followed by four days of an oral med, then sixteen days of recovery. So only one day every three weeks at the hospital. And a lot of free time to kill (I had to give up my teaching this semester for the treatment). This is the sixth day of my first cycle and thankfully I feel great. But I'm warned the it won't last, that fatigue will definitely set in, nausea may occur, hair will definitely disappear, and a host of other side effects are possible. We'll see. I'm an annoyingly incurable optimist so I'm going to go with I'm feeling fine. As for the hair, there's not much there to begin with.
I decided to do this blog for several reasons. For my wife and me it is a record of this journey. For anyone else who chooses to read it, my blog may be informative, particularly for someone diagnosed with a similar condition. For my family and friends, when they are curious about how we're doing they can take a quick look here. I hope to keep it updated daily. After all, I have plenty of free time now.
Finally, my prayer for anyone who is diagnosed with cancer is that their prognosis will be at least as good as mine.
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