Radiation

I saw Dr. Ziaja today to discuss radiation. She showed me my PET scan from February and I don't know what the hell happened that no one noticed this, but my lung was lit up like a Christmas tree. There was lymphoma around my entire right lung and part of my left and yet it wasn't mentioned in the report, nor did my oncologist catch it. Anyway, I will NOT be having radiation!!! Not for good reason though. She explained it like this: think of the radiation beam as a flashlight - it has to have an entry point and an exit point. In order to get the spots around my lung, she's have to radiate thru almost the entire lung and that would cause permanent damage. She told me that they usually give radiation after chemo for Hodgkin's patients to ensure that the Hodgkin's doesn't return and that a handful of people don't really need the radiation; so she doesn't want to damage my lung when I may not even need the radiation. My PET scan was completely clear after four treatments (8 sessions) and I've had 2 more treatments (4 sessions) since. She told me that Hodgkin's is the kind of cancer that if I have a recurrence, I can still be cured of it; unlike other cancers in which a recurrence means you're doomed. She also told me that because I'm being monitored so closely, we could radiate if it did return in whichever lymph node but said we'd cross that bridge only if we come to it. She seemed very confident in her decision and radiated positivity. When she showed me my PET scan from June I got really choked up to see the difference.

After my appointment I went to my unit to visit and got a very warm welcome from everyone. They can't wait for my return and I'm really looking forward to it as well.

On the way home, I couldn't help but crying but I was smiling at the same time and I kept looking up and thanking God that it was finally over. Well, not totally because I have this IV pump until Friday and then I have to worry about my counts doing a final drop and I see Dr. Howard next week Friday to go over everything and work out my follow-up plans. But still, it's over and I will be back to my life very soon. I just hope I can get over all the fears I have developed, and all of the mistrust for doctors that I've come to have. I'm sure those things will take time, but for right now I'm just happy to be done!

Oh, and here's a story just to prove that nothing I've had done regarding this cancer has gone smoothly the first time...

I woke up this morning and the arm band I use to hold my catheters against my arm had orange stuff on it. I smelled it and thought it smelled like fruit and figured I probably ran my arm across a melted popsicle or something. Later as I went to the bathroom I was leaning my arm on my leg and when I lifted my arm my leg was wet. Then Raine pointed out to me that my shirt had orange spots all over it so I figured out that my tubing was leaking but couldn't find an actual leak. I called the VNA and talked to the nurse. She came over and we found that the cap wasn't tight and so the chemo was leaking. She changed the cap and checked it for leaks - none. She switched the med to the other catheter and no leaks there either. So now my meds were delayed 2 hours, making the time I get the line out 2 hours later. Not to mention this threw my whole schedule off for the day. I swear it's always something!