The surgeon said after last week's
surgery on my neck that lymphoma did show up on the frozen section, and
preliminary pathology from the full biopsy says the same. The first
surgery (out of two) on my sinuses showed it as well.
I
had a CT scan on my chest and abdomen this morning and it came back
negative, the surgeon said those areas are clear, so at least the
lymphoma hasn't spread. I'm taking that as being good news. I had to drink a big cup of stuff they called lemonade, but realized quickly it was lemonade flavored solution designed to make the CT scan show clearer results. They injected me with stuff through an IV that spread within a few seconds to pretty much all parts of my body. I could tell because it felt like the beginning stages of spontaneous combustion as it spread.
The surgeon contacted a radiation oncologist who will be getting in touch with us
in the next day or two to see about beginning radiation therapy. If I
don't hear from her (the oncologist) tomorrow I'll call her office, also
at UAB, Friday morning to make sure the appointment is set. Her credentials look very impressive. We've still got a few questions about what seems to be mixed results as far as large B-cell and small B-cell lymphoma, so hopefully she'll be able to answer them.
A lot of the struggle right now is mental/emotional.
Continue to keep me in your prayers.
Ah, you had the exciting IV contrast. Were they nice enough to tell you, "mr, you're going to 'feel' as if you're wetting yourself, but you're not." Good grief, that stuff is weird. They told me that and I didn't believe them until the sensation hit and I was like, "hey, I think I'm peeing myself!"
ReplyDeleteI hope everything goes well for you David. It's very good news that it hasn't spread and has been caught in what seems to be an early stage. I'll keep you in warm, fuzzy thoughts!
Much <3
-Suzi