Angie's Stem Cell Transplant 2006: Day -4 & -3 Chemo Days

About Me

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

In Sept./05 I was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal Large Diffuse B Cell Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. The tumour in my chest measured 10cm x 10.6cm x5cm. After I completed 6 rounds of CHOP-R chemotherapy, a CT Scan in Jan.06 showed that my tumour had decreased by well over half the original size. A Gallium Scan showed negative for cancer cells in my mass. We decided to do 2 more treatments to be sure we killed any remaining cancer. We now had to decide if I should proceed with radiation. Did the risks of radiation outweigh the benefits? My hematologist and radiation oncologist had excellent arguments for both sides of the coin. The decision was to be mine. They set up appointments for me to see doctors in Toronto and Vancouver for 2nd opinions. In Vancouver I had a PET/CT Scan (a superior machine to a Gallium Scan) to see if my tumour was active. On March 17th this scan revealed that my tumour WAS still active and had INCREASED in size from an early scan. This meant that I had Relapsed or Refractory NHL....my best chance for cure was a Stem Cell Transplant. In my blog, I will describe what I am going through before, during and after my transplant.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Day -4 & -3 Chemo Days

Yesterday I received VP 16 Chemo over 5 hours. My nurse Shannon had to stay with me the entire time so she could monitor my vitals. My blood pressure was checked every 5 mins. I slept through most of it.....maybe because of the Benedryl & Ativan given to me prior to the treatment.....maybe because I was exhausted from the anticipation of this day.

My friends Cindy & Amy dropped by for a visit late afternoon & I didn't even have the energy to talk to them.....my mother took up that side of things for me. Anyway, my reaction to this Chemo was like none I have had before......apparantly not too many people react like I did to VP16. I vomited for 12 hours straight, as least once an hour & sometimes more. Sue dropped by at some point in the evening but I barely remember it.

This morning I got cleaned up, had some breakfast & went for a walk prior to my second day of chemo.

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Stay strong you're a fighter!! Prayers and thoughts are with you!!

Susy; 12:18 pm
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie,

It's about time I left a comment on your blog. First of all, let me say that it was great to see you and Sue over the last few weeks. I don't get out to Nova Scotia very often, so I'm glad we all got together. You look healthy and strong, so I know you're in great shape to beat this NHL.

Thank you for updating your blog - we want to keep up with what's going on. Please know that we're all rooting for you.

We send our love and look forward to seeing you in September.

Love from Frank, Biljana, Alexander and Eric; 1:05 pm
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie

Just wanted to say hi and to say hang in there. God I wish you were already on the other side of all this, but am counting down the days til your new "birthday".

All my love

Brenda; 3:54 pm
Anonymous said...: Hey Neighbour!!!
Hang in there Angie...one day at a time.Your a real trooper and I look forward to our next fire!!Our prayers and thoughts are with you
and Sue.Please let us know if we can do anything for you.
Be strong!!!
Love Sue and Andrea; 12:33 pm