And another...

Ha! Just kidding...though I won't be on Friday.  ;)

I had a doctor's appointment today with my oncologist. I had a ton of questions...some necessary, some out of curiosity. Here's the rundown:

I had my blood drawn. No bleeding all over the place. At least, I don't think. The gauze that's wrapped around it is red so it might be hard to tell. I filled out my here's-what's-happening-to-me-lately checklist that the nurse gets. It's a list of any possible symptoms that I might have. Very thorough. Good thing is there weren't quite as many "Y"'s circled. Finally getting around to some "N"'s! Vitals were: temp-97.6, blood pressure-122/64, pulse-80, weight-ha! yeah, right. After I got done talking to the nurse, my doctor came in. I did most of the talking. Here were my questions:

1.  I started yoga in January and ever since then my legs tingle.  This is caused by my vinblastine (one of my chemo drugs) and is called peripheral neuropathy.  Peripheral neuropathy usually improves a few months after treatment.  Not a big deal.  Annoying, but keep an eye on it.

2. How often do I need to get scans now? I'll have another one in about 6 months. Depending on how that turns out, it could be the last one. If I'm experiencing any symptoms after that (weight loss, night sweats, lumps), then I'll need to call immediately to have another one.

3. What are the chances of recurrence? About 10% or less. Yea! I was considered low risk. Of course, there's no guarantee. But in my case, those are my odds.

4. If there is a recurrence, is there a specific time to be aware of it? Yeah...the next 5 years. If it's going to reoccur, it's most likely to happen in the next 5 years. I think that's a pretty general time line for all cancer.

5.  Am I technically cured or in remission?  I got asked this by a lot of people.  Hodgkin's is curable.  However, I'm considered in remission until the next 5 years or so is up.  After there's no recurrence, then I can say I've been cured.  

Now for what she told me:

My lymphocyte count is down.  Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that produce antibodies.  This happens after chemo and is to be expected especially in Hodgkin's patients.  Mainly because Hodgkin's is a cancer originating from the lymphocytes.  Makes sense.  Also not a big deal.  She said it would take a long time to get those back up.  Like, years.  So if anyone else takes blood and notices that, I need to tell them why.  

Also...I can get my port out!  I was waiting for one clean scan before taking it out.  Now I have it and it's time to come out.  I have mixed emotions about it.  It doesn't bother me as much anymore.  Still hurts every now and again.  But...it's grown on me.  Literally and figuratively.  Still we must part.  I'm going to ask to keep it though.  :)

Oh!  And I'm thinking of writing a book.  I came across another patient who published his accounts of treatment and whatnot.  So I thought, why not??  We'll see what happens...

I hope that was everything.  I tried to remember it all. 

Okay...will post again soon.  Thanks for reading!