Reality strikes.

We received good news this morning: my thousand CAT scans from yesterday came back clear. No more noticeable swollen lymph nodes. Everything looked good. Yea! One point for me.

At 1:30, we arrived at the oncologist's office. This is the place I've been dreading. The diagnosis hadn't yet set in until...now. I filled out paperwork, talked to the financial advisor, and had lab work done. Obviously not thinking clearly, I didn't mention to the lab tech that the same arm she was drawing blood from was the same arm the dye was injected in last night. Ouch. Now it's bruised. That turns out to be the least of my worries.

We (mom, dad, Matt and I) go back to the oncologist's office. I had a whole entourage there with me...left in the waiting room was my sister-in-law, Melony, and my mother-in-law. My brother, Bryan, showed up as a surprise later. Sucks to have so many people care for you. :)

Here's what she tells us: I'll have to have chemotherapy for 4 months. Before starting, I have to have 4 more tests and 1 more surgery done. At 9am on Tuesday, the 22nd, I'll be getting a mediport. A mediport is a device that is implanted under your skin so that medications may be delivered directly into your blood system. It looks like this:

On Thursday, the 24th, I'll have a bone marrow test. Fortunately, I'll have what the nurse called a "narcotic lollipop" and another anti-anxiety medication. They'll numb my hip and remove a small sample of tissue. This will detect whether the lymphoma has spread to my bone marrow. And sometime between these two procedures, I'll have 3 more. A MUGA scan, which will assess the function of my heart; a PFT with DLCO, which measures the ability of my lungs to transfer oxygen from the lungs to the blood; and a PET scan, which will be performed for staging info. Chemotherapy has long term side effects including damage to the heart and lungs. The MUGA scan and PFT with DLCO are precautionary steps.

My chemo will be given every 2 weeks through the mediport. Some side effects with chemo are fatigue, nausea and hair loss. I'm not entirely prepared for the last one. My insurance, however, will cover a wig. :) I have 3 prescriptions for nausea. One to take during the chemo, one for the 3 days after chemo, and one for anytime in between. I'll have periodic blood tests to test my white blood count. After every cycle of chemo, I'll be giving myself a shot of Neupogen. This will keep my white blood cells from dropping too low between each treatment.

Now we wait. With more tests and tests results to come, some of this might change. Radiation might be added to the list, which will be given after chemo. A higher dose or longer treatment of chemo might happen. We do know that chemo will start after the next week and a half.

Sigh.....