Results

We went in today for all the test results. Some good news, the doctor says that the cancer only stage III. We were all so relieved that it was not stage IV. The bone marrow biopsy came back negative. We were able to see the PET scan. The scan showed a really large black mass along mediastinum (middle of chest) , some masses in the right supraclavicular portion of his neck (where he found the lump), and a spot in his spleen. They doctor thinks this has probably been developing for about 9 months to a year. They are still waiting on the pathology results for the lymph node biopsy. They first thought it was Hodgkin's but it is not staining like Hodgkin's normally would, so they think that it may be Non-Hodgkins T cell rich B cell lymphoma. If they can't definitively tell us what it is by tomorrow they may have to send it out for further observation.

Tomorrow Robert has an appointment to check the strength of his lungs. This will help them make sure they are not being damaged because of treatment.He also has an appointment Thursday to start Chemotherapy. But they wont know which concoction of medicine to give him until they know for sure what type of lymphoma it is. For either types they usually do 6-8 cycles of Chemo. If it is Hodgkin's he will be given treatment once every two weeks . They do it intravenously and it will last a few hours. If it is Non Hodgkin's, T cell rich B cell lymphoma he would be given treatment once every 3 weeks and it would last about 6 hours. With this type they may also do radiation if they feel it will help. If it is Hodgkin's they gave him a 77% chance of this going into remission for at least 5 years. After that if it is still gone the chances are good that it wont come back. If it is the other (T cell..) the doctor will have to re evaluate that number. The good thing is that for either types the odds are still greater than 50%

Hopefully they will know what it is by Thursday so that we can get him started on Chemotherapy right away. Fortunately because of new technology and the drugs they have available he may only have a few days of down time every time he goes in for a treatment. Which means he wont have to be a hermit and stop living his life. He will get to go to work when he is feeling up to it and do the things he likes to do.

It has been a LONG week! After last Monday it literally felt like the world was going to stop spinning, everything was in pieces, I felt so broken. It has been hard, but we are learning to cope. We are feeling really good about things. We can't change what has already been done. We just have to keep going, put one foot in front of the other and move forward... When we find out more I will let you all know!

Love
Crystal