Chemo - Day 2

My second session of chemotherapy went great also - except for some pain with the insertion of the needle through my skin and into the portacath. I feel good - no nausea and quite a bit of energy. A few days ago, I had the pleasure of walking Newport Beach Country Club watching an ex-student from El Modena (Ed McGlasson) attempt to make it to the US Open. He shot an even par, but played better than that. I think he would have moved on with just one less shot. That was the most exercise I had in several months. Other than a few issues with cramps in my legs later that day, I felt good. It's definitely time for me to work on getting back in shape. I have approval for that, so I am starting tomorrow. Again thanks for all your prayers on my behalf.

Chemo - Day 1

Well, I have survived 1 day of chemotherapy. I feel great! That may be due to the anti-nausea pills that would have cost $3600 for 18 pills, but due to insurance I get them for $90. The first part of the treatment was Rituxan (rituximab). They start this one very slowly, watching for any possible reaction to it. Midway I did have a slightly scratchy throat so they slowed it down for a while. The nurse thought it was basically my body reacting to the positive action of B-cell breakdown. This slowdown caused my session to last about 8 hours of IV and 10 hours in the doctor's office for day 1. I go in for a shot (to boost my immune system) tomorrow and see Dr. Lindgren next Tuesday. Your prayers were felt today - keep praying for His best.

Treatment

Talking with Dr. Lindgren yesterday, I found out that he had lunch on Friday with a noted Mantle Cell oncologist from Houston. They spent an hour discussing my case and Dr. Lindgren was convinced that a third alternative might be the best for me. This is a modified R-CHOP. I don't know what all the letters stand for - it can be found online, but what it means for me is one day of treatment (in his office) and 13 days off. We then repeat this 14 day cycle 6 times. After the fourth one, I go through all the tests for staging again (including bone marrow biopsy). The day after treatment, I receive a shot which is designed to boost my immune system. I will also take a steroid pill and several pills to help alleviate nausea. It will take a few days to get all the prescriptions settled with the insurance company and take another blood test for "bench-mark" purposes. Therefore we are scheduling next Tuesday (5/5) as the start date for chemotherapy.

STAGE IV

It is common for b-cell lymphomas to be diagnosed at stage IV, which includes bone marrow involvement. Please note that successful treatment is often possible for stage IV disease and bone marrow involvement is reversible. The above statement was copied from a website describing a little about stage IV lymphoma. I found out today that my bone marrow biopsy confirmed that I do have stage IV. Dr. Lindgren went over several approved ways of dealing with this. We concluded that only 2 of these options make any sense for me. One of them entails me being hospitalized for nearly a month at a time. The other one has me on an IV for 3 or 4 days and then off for about 21 days. Those 3 or 4 days may be in the hospital or possibly out-patient. Either way we would do about 4 cycles of treatment and then go through the tests again to see how the lymphoma reacted. He wants my decision on Monday (4/27) and then we begin!

Another Surgery

Yesterday (Monday the 13th) was my 3rd surgery in about 1 month. The purpose of this one was two-fold. First was the laparoscopic gall bladder removal. For that, 4 fairly small holes were cut into my abdomen. One of these was a camera, a couple of them were surgical instruments and the last was some sort of tube for the removal of the gall bladder.

The second part of the surgery was to insert what is known as a "port-a-cath", which I previously called a shunt. The picture above gives some idea of what one looks like. It is a semi-permanent opening into my right jugular vein, completely under the skin, providing fairly easy access to the vein for drawing blood or in my case for inserting chemotherapy.

Within a few days, I hope to hear from my oncologist to schedule a meeting and discuss my upcoming treatment.

Family Time

I wanted to add a personal item to this blog. Our 2 kids brought our 5 grandchildren to visit this last week. What a blessing!

Good Bye Gall Bladder

The gall bladder scan showed a forming of gall stones. Although I have never experienced any problems, they tend to block the bile from going to the digestive tract. If I were not getting ready for treatment, this would not be an issue. During my treatment, my blood will have less white cells to help me fight anything. Therefore the doctors have decided that the best course of action for me is a preemptive removal of the gall bladder. The only negative is a small period of adjustment for my digestive tract. I am scheduled for surgery on Monday afternoon. Dr. Lindgren is asking the surgeon (Dr. Hamamji) to insert a shunt for future chemotherapy use. After healing from surgery, I will meet with Dr. Lindgren to get a better idea of his recommendation for my treatment and what to expect.