Good News!

This winter has been hard not only because of the abnormal weather but because of abnormalities which showed up on my routine post-cancer CT scans.

On December 30 I went for a routine CT scan - this was just over one year from the last one as I was switching to a once a year scan from every six months. The results came back indicating there were at least two lymph nodes which were larger than seen on previous scans. Sharon and I visited my oncologist, who put a real scare into me. He was concerned that the Hodgkins lymphoma was back and if it was, would require more chemo followed by a bone marrow transplant. Scary stuff.
I had a PET scan to help with the diagnosis, and the PET indicated a number of lymph nodes "lighting" up with an uptake of the radioactive glucose. Still scary. This scan was followed up with a needle biopsy of my left inguinal lymph node last Tuesday.

We got the results this week and met with the oncologist yesterday. His determination and that of the pathologist is indolent follicular lymphoma. This is not great news, but it is indeed good news. This is a slow growing lymphoma which does not require treatment unless I become symptomatic. I have no symptoms - just signs of enlarged lymph nodes in my CT scan and lymph nodes that lit up on my PET scan. So, while it would have been best to have no lymphoma, I do not have a recurrence of Hodgkins which was the worst possible diagnosis. I will see my oncologist in three months, plan on a CT scan in six months, and watch for symptoms. It is difficult realizing that I have moved beyond or past having Hodgkins lymphoma to having non-Hodgkins lymphoma. But, of the many types of non-Hodgkins lymphoma to have, what I apparently have is not a bad one to have. Slow growing and treatable with an antibody if necessary.

We are OK with this diagnosis and feel we can now continue living and planning life after taking about six weeks off. Now we can plan a trip or two to Europe this summer, trips to Oregon, and where ever else we want to go!