The one with all the doctor appointments

Tuesday morning 1/13, I meet my oncologist, Dr. S., at 9:30 at the recommendation of my cardiothoracic surgeon.  It's a whirlwind of information.  He's talked to my cardiothoracic surgeon about my case and he agrees that it's the best diagnosis I could have gotten.  He's optimistic and says Hodgkin's is treatable and curable.  It's not staged yet, but he guesses that it's stage III with bulky disease (due to the big tumor in my chest).  We won't know for sure what stage until I get a PET scan and a bone marrow biopsy.  The chemo regimen I'll be on is called ABVD (stands for the 4 drugs I'll be using - Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, Dacarbazine)  Before we do anything, we've got to get more tests done and see more doctors -- a cardiologist to check out my heart, a fertility specialist to discuss fertility options, a pulmonary doctor to get a pulmonary function test, PET scan, and a bone marrow biopsy.  The following happens in 5 separate appointments on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  Things are moving quickly so we can begin treatment ASAP.

Cardiologist (Tuesday 1/20) - I get a 2d echocardiogram to check my heart valves and an EKG.  For the echo, I lie on a teeny table in a hospital gown and the tech moves a handheld transducer around my chest to get a visual.  He also gets recordings of my blood swishing and the valves' operation.  It's really relaxing to be lying down listening to sounds of your blood flowing through your heart.  The cardiologist says my heart is "beautiful".  I am so flattered.

Fertility (Tuesday 1/20) - The oncologist recommended we talk to a fertility specialist because there's a small chance that the chemo drugs could cause permanent menopause.  I want to have options for kids later on, y'know?  We talk to a fertility doctor who is very frank with us about freezing eggs/embryos - it's about a 40% chance to get pregnant with 10-12 frozen embryos.  It's almost a no-brainer to me - I want the option of having kids in case chemo does ruin my baby-making insides. 

Pulmonary Function Test (Friday 1/23) - this test took about 20 minutes.  Upon my poor showing at the tests, the nurse asks if I've had breathing problems in the past, such as asthma.  No, no asthma.. but I have this huge ass tumor pushing on my left lung.

PET scan (Thursday 1/22) - this one was actually a PET-CT scan.  I get injected with radioactive sugar and left me alone to fall asleep in a warm room to the sounds of heavy rain in Austin.  I was awoke an hour later and strapped to a tiny table that was going to move me back and forth inside the PET scan machine for 20 minutes.  I fell asleep again in the machine.  All in all, a pretty relaxing scan.  The results of this scan were not surprising, says Dr. S.  The lymphoma is in and around my chest and neck lymph nodes and has made its way down to my lower back.

Bone Marrow Biopsy (Friday 1/23) - This one was nerve wracking.  I wasn't prepared for this one and just kept nervously talking and asking questions.  My nurse did a good job of hyping down the pain and trauma though.  Dr. S performed the biopsy in the exam room while I lied facedown on the table fully clothed.  The biopsy spot was hip bone a little above my butt.  I got lidocaine shots and was numbed so I didn't feel anything while it was going down.  The heavy downward pressure was disconcerting though, but that was to be expected.  He was going into my bone!  When he was pulling the marrow out, it felt like someone was pulling my thigh muscle from the inside.  It tickled and hurt at the same time.  Afterwards, Dr. S showed us the marrow sample (he said he got more samples than anticipated and it was possible the lymphoma had spread there) and a piece of the bone he took.  I feel incomplete.  The results of this biopsy wouldn't be back for 1-2 weeks.  Recovery was tough - if I sat down wrong or turned my body a certain, I'd get this dull ache in my butt/back and have to re-adjust immediately.

Phew, I think I've caught you guys up to realtime.

Through all this, I learn how wonderful pain management and pain drugs are.  I am on some strong stuff and can lead a semi-normal life before starting chemo.  It's like the calm before the storm and I forget I have cancer when the pain's gone.