Stage II B

Yesterday, my oncologist met with us before my first chemo infusion. While we're still waiting on the results of the bone marrow biopsy, he has gone ahead and staged my lymphoma. Stage II B. Stage II means the cancer showed up on the PET scan somewhere besides the main tumor. It is also in a few lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. B means I'm having other symptoms, like drenching night sweats and weight loss. Once the bone marrow biopsy results come back, the stage may change, but it doesn't change the early treatment plan. It'll just let us know if there's more cancer to fight. He said it's likely that there is some in the marrow, as I am anemic, but he's hopeful there's nothing there.

My first chemo treatment went well. The longest part was getting fluids. They apparently wanted to make me spend most of the day walking back & forth to the bathroom. Their evil plan worked. I made 6 trips to pee while we were there. The three chemo meds only took about an hour. One was an hour long drip. The other two were pushed via syringe. It wasn't so bad, except for the strange tastes in the back of my mouth. 

I slept all day yesterday and all night last night. I've been tired today, but I ate a giant plate of spaghetti. It was divine. After having eaten very little over the past 2 weeks, that huge plate really hit the spot. And thankfully, it has stayed in that spot. 

Nathan has been awesome with the kids. I can tell they are testing his patience, but he's doing great. They don't understand what all is going on, so they are up to their usual badness.

Thanks for your continued thoughts & prayers.