Monday, November 19, 2012

Headed to chemo soon

Found out I have two kinds of lymphoma - small cell (less aggressive) and large cell. The small cell started in my sinuses, possibly several years ago. It transformed into large cell, which is what was found in my neck after the surgery from two weeks ago. The small cell transforms into large cell in about twenty five percent of small cell lymphomas.
The standard treatment is chemotherapy. Before the chemo, and hopefully next week, I'll have more CT scans done of my neck and pelvis, and a PET scan. That will be followed by an echo-cardiogram and a bone marrow biopsy. If all goes well in those, the chemo treatments will start soon thereafter. Due to the location of the small cell mass, one of the chemo treatments will include a round of treatment involving spinal fluid to help keep the lymphoma from spreading to my brain.
The large cell is curable, so if all goes well with the chemo, that part could be taken care of permanently. The small cell is treatable and can be put in remission, but the doctor said it is not curable. I believe in the power of God and the power of prayer, so will trust that with or without the treatments, it'll all be taken care of. 
There's more detailed stuff as well, but that's the crux of it. I'll get a chemo treatment once every three weeks, probably for six treatments. If anyone would like more details, email me at dsurrett@yahoo.com or send me an inbox message on Facebook.
I was gonna ask how fast my hair would fall out but forgot to. Shouldn't have wasted money on a haircut last week. Gonna have to find another hat. I have a large head so even most of the one-size-fits-all hats don't fit me. The hat I've been using for years is a Florida Marlins hat. I'm not a Marlins fan, but it fits me.
Doctor Forero, who is said to be the best oncologist at UAB, said I need to find something to occupy my mind during this so I wouldn't always be thinking about lymphoma and chemotherapy. Time to get back more heavily into my writing.
"It was a dark and stormy night..."

1 comment:

  1. Oh David.... I haven't the words to express what I want to say (I'm not a great writer like you). Just know you are in my thoughts daily and if there is ever anything you need, or something a silly blonde in Cali can do for you, you only have to ask. Love to you and your family <3

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