The Appointment

Today at last I met with my oncologist for the low down on the bone marrow biopsy, the full body scan, and the treatment plan. As soon as I checked in at the desk, they sent me for bloodwork. I have always gone to the hospital lab for that, and when I checked in there, I discovered it would be a 40 minute wait. I mentioned that I had a doctor's appointment, and the kind receptionist called the cancer clinic to see if I should go to the appointment first.

Turns out, there is a lab right in the cancer clinic! No lines, no waiting. I never knew that. You learn something new everyday. Once that was taken care of, I waited for the doctor semi calmly, trying not to get ahead of the game. Could be a good report, after all. The doctor knocked gently on the door, entering with a smile, washing her hands, shaking mine.

Together we perused the lab reports. Yes, the lymphoma is in my bone marrow. Not a lot, but some. Yes, there are more spots where the cancer has spread to other bones - sternum, shoulder, hip. Yes, the lymph glands in my abdomen are enlarging. Hum. What to do?

She will take everything to the New England area discussion on Tuesday to see what everyone there thinks. There are no protocols since lymphoma doesn't show up in bone. We will break new ground together. She really wants to do a radio injection, but the insurance company is not likely to approve that - its $25,000 for each dose alone not to mention the nursing care and other stuff.

Radiation alone will probably not cut it. We move to R-CHOP chemo. Not the best solution, but will buy us some time and satisfy the insurance company that we have tried the usual treatments. We will likely have the same conversation again in a few years. Longer time if we are lucky.

This will not be a picnic, but they have it down to a science. It will take an entire day to administer the 5 different chemos plus the Rituxin. They will do 5 or 6 doses, one every three weeks starting next Wednesday. I will loose my hair, combat nausea, diarrhea, fatigue and end up with more chemobrain. They have a booklet filled with ideas about how to deal with these issues, how to help yourself.

I am glad that this is the last week of class, that summer is gentler than during the school year. If I am lucky, I will be through the worst before fall. I am sad to realize that Concordia is out. No summer coursework. I will have to delay my seminary work for a season. Rats.

I decide that before all hell breaks loose, I will take a trip to North Carolina to visit my darling grand daughters, my son and daughter in law. I will leave tomorrow. I only have a few days. They will be installing a port on Monday - I am going to try to change the date to Tuesday to buy a little more time.

The nurse tells me they will write me a prescription for a wig! I laugh. I always said I would henna my head if I lost my hair. I will look into it. I ask if they can write a prescription for the gym so I can keep working out. She says they will definitely write a letter in support of financial help with that.

I have an instant call number now - any time of night or day I can get ahold of medical help. I pray that I won't have to use it. She doesn't know I have had a help line for years - its called prayer. And I am calling it right now.