Category Treatment
My Head is Full of Cotton Balls
The first bag drips into me, following a short path straight to my heart. It takes 3 hours to fill my head with cotton balls. The next four bags take four days to create a labyrinthine rubber band inside my body. I can smell and taste the construction. The rubber band stretches from my intestines to my […]
As Good As It Gets (here)
I’m on my last of four 24-hour infusions of my “miracle poison” (this stuff). By it’s nature, a hospital room, however nice, is not a great place to pass a holiday weekend…but, boy, did I have a lot of family and friends making it as good as it could be! Thanks to everyone for helping […]
You May Now Vacate The Premises! (or, how to remove the spots from a Dalmatian…)
First evidence: feeling better == getting better. I have received the results of the full-body PET scan I had Monday showing the difference from before I started chemo (now that 2 R-CHOP cycles are done). Here is an excerpt from the contrast-enhanced images (that show higher metabolic activity of cancer cells vs. normal cells) and […]
Shaken or Stirred?
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while – I’ve been feeling pretty much “normal” (really good, just get tired/achy by 6pm) and have been keeping busy! Nevertheless, with continued encouragement from Tracey (the Wonder Wife) to get additional medical advice, I have not become complacent. Just because I feel good doesn’t mean I’m cured… So, […]
drip, drip, drip…
Putting my power port to good use at the doc’s luxury chemo club. The last 2 days were encouraging – the original pains that led me to the hospital seem to be healing and the chemo pains became more manageable. After this round I should be able to differentiate between symptoms of the disease and […]
What’s In Duarte, anyway?
Yes, it was time for another opinion from…City of Hope. I guess not-much-news is good news, but there’s not much to say. They reviewed all the data and set me up with a doctor. What he had to say: I’m getting the right treatment…CHOP-R is universally prescribed for both High Grade Follicular and Diffuse Large […]
Latest Diagnosis & Treatment
My Oncologist/Hematologist/Internist, Dr. Meyering has been great – really engaged, spends more time and effort than I’d have expected. Her own experience surviving cancer also helps. Got lucky with her! After yesterday’s sit down, here’s the latest: My initial response to chemo round 1 has been quite good…and without the worst of the side-effects (yet […]
The Magic Power Port
I had a “Port-a-Cath” installed in my shoulder/chest area on Thurs 7/19 – and it was being used already on Sat. 7/21 for my first round of chemo. Why the “Power Port“? With so many injections and tests over the next 4-6 months, it just is easier, more effective and less risky. No IVs, on […]
About This Lymphoma Thingy…
(Why am I creating a blog?) So, I have this pain in my ribs a few weeks ago – no big deal, probably trying too hard with Jordie in the gym or something. But, it doesn’t go away and it starts getting worse. Well, a couple of weeks later, we find out I have Lymphoma. […]
Cliphoma 