Testing Completed

I've finally finished all of my tests and can spend the weekend recuperating from them. The bone marrow biopsy and aspiration was pretty nasty and my tuchas is still smarting from it.

I must be getting good at this cause this last day of testing I didn't even take any happy pills. I'll have a week and a half off before I get the word from the doctor, so it will be nice to have the time off. By then the black and blue marks may be gone.

I am awed by some of the patients that I have met. Young and old, they are all fighting cancer. I sat with a 5 year old boy today that was doing better with his IV than I was. (That's not hard, but he was great.) If there are positives to all of this, the people I am meeting are definitely wonderful. Ted is also meeting a lot of family members while he waits for me and has the same experience.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend.

Day 1 at MD Anderson

Ted and I spent the entire day at MD Anderson getting registered, checked, bloodwork and xrays. We spent some time with the doctor and developed the plan for finalizing my type of Lymphoma. I've got a bone marrow biopsy, CT scan of everything, a heart scan and a few other things to do. On March 4th I will get the final word on everything and we'll have the plan to get started on the chemo.

The hospital was incredible. It is huge, but everyone that came in contact with me was nice, caring and answered every possible question. The floor I was on was strictly for Lymphoma and Myeloma patients, and there are a bunch of us! I feel very good about their ability to help me and am really looking forward to starting my treatment.

Keep checking on this blog for updates. Thanks everyone for all the positive thoughts.

MD Anderson

It looks like the stars are aligned properly because I was able to get an appointment very quickly at MD Anderson for evaluation in their Lymphoma Department. I'll be there on Wednesday to see them. I was lucky enough to get an appointment with the head of the department. I am looking forward to seeing what it's like there since it is so highly regarded for cancer treatment.

Here we go.

Since my preliminary diagnosis of lymphoma last week, I've been having more fun than I can stand. After a PET scan and biopsy, I've found out that in fact, I do have Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, just still a little confused about the specifics of it. I have to do another biopsy of an entire lymph node to find out more. My body lit up all over my PET scan with lots of cancer -kinda like a Jewish Christmas tree. Chemo will start soon - I guess I could have skipped going to Weight Watchers. Anyway, thanks everyone for caring and I'll try to keep everyone updated here. Check back for more later.

Love you all.

M