Angie's Stem Cell Transplant 2006: DAY + 100

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.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

DAY + 100

Today is the final day for me to follow the strict precautions following my Stem Cell Transplant.

So officially......I am allowed to eat fresh fruit & veggies again...& I can eat out at restaurants.

Unofficially....I am definitely not physically able to even attempt any of the above. Keeping food in my stomach, continues to be a challenge.......my esophagus is feeling better for swallowing, however my stomach acid is acting up.....I think it is having trouble digesting my food.

I am continuing to take my Zantac for stomach acid & Zofran for nausea plus I have started taking a liquid laxative to help with that end of things.
After vomiting this morning....I took my necessary meds. & ate some yogurt & liquidfied cream cheese in a small amount. Today, I will continue to eat small amounts every couple hours.....I am going to walk a little & see if there is an improvement. Also, I will try to get more protein in today via egg & tofu.....
I have an appointment to see my Naturopath this afternoon.....so she may have some suggestions to help me out too.

Other than the above, my spirits are good & I believe that I am on the way to being fully healed.......this is just a little glich in the road......no journey worth achieving can ever be too easy!

I am very happy to be in my own home & am so thank-ful to feel loved and cared about by my family & friends. Loving & being loved is the best thing in life.

In addition, Gratitude, happiness and forgiveness of anyone and anything will continue to be my part of my life's goal......all important to healing!

I will be in touch.....

7 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Angie:

Good for you, 100 days and counting up hill from here. Hopefully the nausea will subside in the next few days, and you will continue to feel stronger each day. You have so many people in your corner rooting for you.
Keep up the positive thoughts.

Mary; 11:27 pm
Anonymous said...: Angie, I don't even KNOW you and I love you and care about you!! I'm so, so happy to see that 100 number up there....even if you're not quite where you will be in even a week from now! You're doing all the right things, availing yourself of all beneficial resources, being gentle with yourself, all of it.

I just know you're going to feel better soon, soon, soon! I know also that this next scan of yours is going to be so clean you could eat off it. Now wouldn't THAT be a bit of delicious irony?! (This is your brain on chemo, people. Angie, you know whereof I speak.)

Thank you, Angie for your incredibly supportive comments on my blog. I love it and well, you know how it is.

To Brenda and other beautiful, friends of yours, I give my wholehearted appreciation and gratitude for so generously reaching out to me! Brenda, it's been a while, hope this finds you and your gorgeous family doing beautifully!!

Take care, Angie...now you know you have to keep posting updates here, right? It would be downright cruel not to. I've got to hear the happy ending.

Love to you and Sue and the furkids,

Sarah; 1:52 am
Anonymous said...: Happy Day 100!! This is an important milestone and although you're not feeling so hot now, I know that you will continue to feel better each day. Congrats & Happy Halloween! Have fun with the little trick-or-treaters...they're so cute! -R.; 8:54 am
Anonymous said...: Angie you sound more positive than ever. Hope you feel better soon. Keep pushing hard. Sounds like the journey is coming finally to a positive end. Sandy; 8:57 am
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie,Happy 100th day!!!! Glad to hear you are keeping a bit of food down,having just been with you I know what a challenge it is for you to eat anything.I did a silent cheer when I read your blog today.You are one strong willed girl and this is one of those drifts on a plateau that you will either climb over or blast right through.Take your time tho as I know you,you want to be better sooner then later. How about a home made egg nog now that you can eat fresh stuff,Milk,egg,nutmeg and rum. We are so happy were able to spend time with you and also see your beautiful home.Hi to Sue and your furry friends. Love you TnT; 6:32 pm
Anonymous said...: Wao to go Angie! I think you have definitely turned a corner and things will just get better from now on. Once you're able to eat better, improvement will hopefully reach an acceleration level hard to believe. Keep up the good work.
Brenda & Gerry; 12:34 pm
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie,

I'm counting the days til I get home so we can hang out. Maybe by then you can eat a salad at Swiss Chalet, our old haunt.

It's been a long ride, this past year feels like ten years to me, it's hard to believe that it's only been a little over a year since the diagnosis.

I hope this blog finds you feeling better, it's all uphill from here.

Love you my friend,

Brenda; 1:48 am