Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with ABVD (Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, Dacarbazine) chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. I hope this takes some of the mystery out of treatment for cancer and makes your own experience more pleasant. I was inspired to create this blog by Jon, the author of Adventures in ABVD. You can compare his experience to my own at http://www.adventuresinabvd.blogspot.com/.
Jamie
What? Me worry about hair loss?
Feel free to email me at jdstorella@verizon.net.
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.
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.
Blog Archive
2 comments:
Yes! I agree! Extraordinary! Thanks for writing this blog. I am going through treatment for Hodgkins right now and found your blog. I just read the entire thing, and thank you for sharing! Congrats on the life after cancer.
Yay! To a world where unremarkable is a good thing. Hang in there, you have my support. I am an ovarian cancer survivor, and was lucky to be working for ChiliTechnology during my treatment so had access to a ChiliPad. Anyone out there who is on Chemotherapy and having trouble with heat or chills - I highly recommend it. It's a simple mattress pad that cools the bed (or heats it). It has a big temperature range and you can set different temperatures for each side of the bed. It was definitely a lifesaver for me, hope this helps someone!
Post a Comment