More Adventures in ABVD: March 2008

Background

I'm 43 years old and live in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts.

After decades of having a stuffy nose and breathing through my mouth I decided to have surgery to correct the blockages in my airway. The procedure included fixing a deviated septum, cauterizing enlarged turbinates and removing huge adenoids. The surgery was successful (and painless) and my breathing improved dramatically once the splints were removed from my nose a week later. My care at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital was top notch and the staff was kind and professional. I felt better than I had in ten years.

Two days later I received a call from the office of my ENT. I was told that the biopsy of the adenoid tissue that was removed was inconclusive and the doctor wanted to see me that day. I learned that two hospitals had reviewed my biopsy and thought I might have Hodgkin's lymphoma. I would have to wait a week to have more sophisticated tests performed at Massachusetts General Hospital. Boy was that a long week!

On November 16, 2007, the diagnosis was confirmed. I had cancer. I was told that it was a highly curable form of cancer and that a CT scan suggested that it may have been caught in a very early stage. A PET scan confirmed that it was located in a single area of my body. Since I had no symptoms I was diagnosed with stage 1A Classical Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects only about 8,000 people per year in the United States.

Monday, March 31, 2008

The 8th and 9th Treatments

I've been busy lately and I got behind on my posts. Let's catch up.

My 8th treatment on March 14th was probably the best one yet. It went by relatively quickly and easily. I suspect the Ativan helped. Remarkably, I didn't experience any side effects afterward except for the runny nose I've had all along. No fatigue. No arm ache. I learned that my nose runs because one of the side effects of the chemotherapy is to produce more tears. The tears then run down my nose.

My 9th treatment on March 28th was long but not too bad. I had to get there at 9:00 for the blood work. My favorite phlebotomist was there but the jab I got wasn't too comfortable this time. The nurse oncologist did a better job of finding a vein without a lot of movement. Then appointments with my oncologists at 10:00. A pulmonary function test at 11:30 showed that my lungs haven't changed from the treatments (that's a good thing). My infusion was scheduled for 2:00 but having my lung tests after my appointments with my doctor seemed to slow up the ordering of the medicine. I had a guest show up during my treatment. It made the time fly by. Thanks Kevin! I got out at 5:00.

I slept after my infusion on Friday as I usually do. I was up early on Saturday and felt great as has also become the pattern. Sunday, I slept all day and night with a few breaks and then most of Monday. If I can get realigned with the clock tonight I think I'll be fine at work tomorrow.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The 7th Treatment

I received my 7th treatment on February 29th. The day went by smoothly and my absolute neutrophyls went up. In the two weeks following the treatment, I had some fatigue for a few days followed by that creepy arm ache feeling about a week later. It lasted for most of a week. Tylenol helps but I'm not great about staying ahead of the curve. I usually wait until it hurts again before taking more Tylenol.

I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow's treatment but it will be nice to be done with number 8. That will make me 2/3rd of the way through the process.

More Adventures in ABVD

Jamie

Email

Background

Blog Archive

Useful Links

Monday, March 31, 2008

The 8th and 9th Treatments

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The 7th Treatment