It was 9:30 a.m. when Dr. “S” came in the room and told me he had the results of my CT Scans. I told him so did I and asked him if we could look at the film. I wanted to see what my cancer looked like. CT Scans are a type of x-ray (It’s like absorbing a years worth of the suns radiation). The machine takes pictures as if you were looking at a loaf of bread by cutting the loaf into slices. Each film is a slice of the body, so it’s like laying a slice of bread on the counter and looking at it to see the texture and holes etc. Dr “S” took out a couple of the films and showed me the enlarged areas of lymphoma.
The doctor sat down and explained to me that I was found to have significant enlarged lymph nodes in my neck and axilla (under arms). He told me that my cancer was treatable but it was not curable with currently available therapies. I didn’t ask about only living five more years because I did not want to hear that. I had done my research on Follicular non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I had found that it is a cancer affecting b-lymphocytes. A b-cell is type of white blood cell that normally defends you against bacteria and other types of pathogens that cause illness. The b-cells reside in the lymph nodes and when there are too many, the lymph nodes swell.
Dr “S” told me that I had a Stage II Lymphoma. I had enlarged lymph nodes in two separate areas, but both were above my diaphragm. Then he explained that my cancer was slow growing and that I had a couple of options. I could take a wait and see approach or we could start me on a regiment of chemotherapy. I thought to myself, wait and see? What kind of approach it that?, but there are actually some patients who don't need treatment for years. Mine needed treatment. I told Dr ”S” that I would like to start with the chemotherapy. Dr “S” agreed with me about starting the chemo and told me I would start the next day. He explained that I would take it right there in his office as he had a room called The Infusion Room. Many people receive their treatments at their oncologists’ office. You only have to go to the Hospital if it’s really bad. Some patients choose to receive their treatments at a Cancer Center, e.g. Moffitt Cancer Centers of Tampa. The advantage of the Cancer Center is that it is a place you would go if you need to have a specific treatment, such as a Bone Marrow transplant. But the chemo is the same at either place, so I get mine at my doctor's office where it's more personable. I asked him what he was going to give me? He said my treatment would consist of Cytoxan (you can tell it’s a poison just by the name), Vincristine and Prednisone. I asked him how long would it take? He answered that a treatment takes about five hours. I would be getting a series of six treatments. I would receive a treatment every 3-4 weeks depending on my blood count. The chemo kills ALL fast growing cells and it just depends on how quick you recover.
That was it for today, he told me the front desk would schedule me for the morning and he would see me tomorrow. I said goodbye to him and I stopped in the Infusion Room on the way out. There were several people all sitting in recliner chairs covered in blanket to stay warm and they were all hooked up to IV units. There was a TV on but most looked to be asleep. I introduce myself to the head nurse and said I would see her tomorrow. I went to the front desk and they gave me a little business type card with my appointment time on it. They wrote on it that I should be there at 8:45 a.m. I told them thanks and I would see them tomorrow. I left the building, got in my car and drove to work.
Treatments start next time
No comments:
Post a Comment