Angie's Stem Cell Transplant 2006: Update on Day -3

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

Update on Day -3

Chemo was rather uneventful today.....I was very relieved that I didn't go through the same thing as Day -4. I bounced back well enough to go home for a few hours today. I was so thank-ful to have Mom stay with me during my difficult time....she is such a great mother & her nursing instincts were definitely in full gear. My sister Coleen & niece Nicole picked up Mom & I from the hospital & drove us both home. Thank-you to them for doing this for us. The sun was out full blast & I enjoyed looking at our new garden planted by Mary & Chummy MacDonald over a 2 day period. I am so thank-ful for their time & generousity, so that I would have the pleasure of a garden this summer.....something to look forward to when I am released from the hospital in a few weeks.
Our neighbours Peter & Maureen brought over a delicious meal of spagetti & meat sauce, some cranberry muffins & white wine for Sue.....it was the perfect meal for my palate today!
Our neighbors & good friends Sue & Andrea are baby sitting the dogs tonight so Sue could stay with me at the hospital.
It sure helps to have so much support through all this.....without it I don't know how we could make it through...
Here we are back at the hospital & will probably pop a movie in the DVD player as soon as I am done writing. Good-night!!

2 Comments:

Unknown said...: I'm so glad today was a good day! I love that you got to go home and enjoy a good meal with people you love. And also that Sue got to go back with you.

Lorraine and I are in the midst of trying to sort that out, as we have 8 animals. (I know, I know. There's a sucker born every minute. Sometimes two.)

So yay for you!! You're a freaking Amazon! :); 12:27 am
Unknown said...: Ok, just to clarify....

By Amazon, I mean to suggest that you are a strong and fearsome warrior, not that you're overly large or particularly good with a bow and arrow.

;); 12:29 am