Rediagnosis: Cancer

Last night I was walking around in the Dollar Tree when my cell phone lit up with a call from my doctor. "Oh good" I thought, I'd been waiting to get the official word about my recent biopsy for almost a week. The surgeon had reassured me that the mass didn't look cancerous to him, and so I'd not worried much more about it.

My doc: "So how did the biopsy go?"

Me: "THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING YOU WERE CALLING TO TELL ME!"

Doc: "ha ha. No, the actual procedure. How's your incision?"

Me: "It was routine. I'm no more sore than is to be expected. How are my results?"

Doc: "Well, there were Hodgkin's cells in the biopsy."

Me: "You've *got* to be kidding me."

Doc: "I wish I was..."

And so I sat down the cheapie dollar scissors I was toting around. Walked out to my car in a haze. And had a discussion with my oncologist about what happens now.

So what happens now?

First, I move back to northern Kentucky. Second, I start a new treatment regimen, meant to get me ready for transplant. Third, I have another stem cell transplant, this time using a donor's stem cells. Finally, I kick cancer's ass...again (again). Easy Peasie.

I'm sure I'll relate more details as we go, but those are the basics. Here's a terrifying chart, to convey the gravity of the situation:

Overall survival of 118 patients from date of relapse after autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

It's like the giant hour glass the wicked witch of the west flips to let Dorothy know when she'll meet her doom, except less pretty.

There's a new treatment though (only out 2 months) that I'll be doing to prepare for the transplant. Hopefully that changes the statistics as they now stand.

If any of you would like to help me, here's what I need:

Please go to www.bethematch.org and sign up to be a stem cell donor. It's free to join the registry. They send you a cotton swab and some easy directions and once you send it back you could save a life. Very few people ever get called (1 in 540 according to a friend). Those who do get called usually have no costs associated with donating. The procedure itself (as I understand it) is the same one they used to collect my stem cells, which was just like giving blood but took a bit longer. Of the 10,000 people (many of them children) who need a donor every year, only 50% find a match. Please, please sign up to possibly save a life. A life like mine.

In more practical matters, I will need help with the move. Loading in Tallahassee, unloading somewhere in northern Kentucky. If anyone has a lead on nice but affordable places for rent in Burlington, I'd love to know.

If other things come up I'll let everyone know. For now though, hugs, distractions, and support are warmly welcomed.