Today I celebrate five years in remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma. Five years ago today, I had my 20th and last radiation treatment, after completing 6 months of chemo. I’ve waited a long time for this date to get here, and in a lot of ways it’s scary to finally achieve it. It’s been a long road, but I now have a lot to be thankful for. I’m especially thankful for the people in my life that helped and supported me before, during and since the cancer.
Today is a good day.
Wired News: New Security Pain: Radioactivity
Reminds me of when I went through some of my testing. I had to have gallium injected and then let it run through me for 48 hours. The nurse explained: “You’re now radioactive and your pee is radioactive. And, stay away from small children and pets.”
Yahoo! News – Cancer Can Ruin a Life, Even if You Survive — Study
Yeah, well what else is new… So can poverty, famine, the plague, severe paper cuts, terminal chapped lips and bad coffee.
I do find it interesting that they say that cancer survivors were more likely to report other symptoms. I have a feeling this isn’t only a result of side effects from treatment, but also a keener sense about your body and paying closer attention to things going on in it.
Of course it could just be whining 
Yahoo! News – Hodgkin’s Therapy Tied to Later Heart Problems
Luckily I should be in the clear because I was 25 1/2… Whew, that was a close one
Aspirin May Lower Risk of Hodgkin’s
Meant to post this a few days ago when I originally saw it, but forgot. Every few months something new comes out about Hodgkins, whether it be a new possible cause or new treatment, etc. What I found interesting was the fact that they saw a 70% increase in users of Tylenol, which I’ve taken all my life…
Either way, I still blame the Hodgkins Fairy.
I was reading this article, Wired 11.08: The End of Cancer (As we Know it), and was intriguied by the following analogy:
This was not about fighting cancer using chemical or nuclear weapons – chemotherapy and radiation. It was about understanding how cancer functions at the cellular level, then building drugs that worked like smart bombs to target only the molecules causing the problem.
With war so prevalent in the news these days, and our concerns over chemical weapons, this was sort of chilling. Which will come first? The end of chemical/nuclear weapons in global warfare or in human warfare?
At least the researchers (and patients) are fighting the good fight…
So back to the dentist in more pain today. He suggested I go to my physician and have my lymph nodes checked out. Just what I wanted to hear.
There is no need to panic.
Update 5/16 – After an exam and blood work, there is nothing wrong with my lymph nodes, all my blood tests came back normal.
OK, so here’s another attempt at humor. Actually, I think it’s funny how similar they really are. Think of how much more sensitive I will be to the burdens of pregnancy! In case you’re joining our program already in progress, ABVD is the name of the chemotherapy regimen I’m taking. If you have any suggestions, or want to tell me how far off I am (since I’ve never been pregnant, but seen it on TV), send me an email.
| ABVD | Pregnancy |
|---|---|
| Nausea | Nausea |
| Dizziness | Dizziness |
| Constipation | Constipation |
| 28 day cycle | LACK OF 28 day cycle |
| May result in infertility for men | May result in man’s n*ts being cut off |
| Requires many tests | Requires many tests |
| May take several hours | May take several hours |
| All day sickness | Morning sickness |
| Luckily, you forget the pain by the time the next one comes around | Luckily, you forget the pain by the time the next one comes around |
| Requires many pricks and pokes | The result of too many pricks and pokes |
| Stretch Marks | Stretch Marks |
| A life altering experience | A life altering experience |
Here’s something I posted to the Hodgkins mailing list one night. The subject of the email was “Like drips through the IV, so are the Days of Our Lives”
Here on Hodgkins Island
(sung to the tune of the theme song of Gilligan’s Island)
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale
A tale of a chemo drip
That started with a bumpy node
And caused us to be sick…
The beast was an ugly cancer thing
The tests showed they were sure
Six cycles of the chemo brew
Some rads to be sure…
The tiny veins were getting small
The cookies had been tossed
If not for the courage of the Hodgkins crew
The battle would be lost…
The battle would be lost…
The drip was set to give the meds in the usual medical style
With Adria
And Stanford V
Dacarbazine
And Kytril
Some Prednisone
The biopsy and neup-o-gen
Here on Hodgkins Isle
Here’s something I posted to the Hodgkins Disease mailing list. You probably have to be associated with the list to get some of these, but I hope enjoy it anyway.
You know you’re a Hodgkins patient if:
* you know ALL the synonyms for your chemo drugs (Adriamycin, Doxorubicin, Bleomycin, Blenoxane)
* you think “firehose veins” is a cool nickname
* you know the difference between Reid Steinberg, Reed Sternberg, Red Steinman cells
* you know what HD NS IIB Dx 2/99 6/6 ABVD 3400 rads means
* you think “The Mask” isn’t some Jim Carrey movie
* you look back and think of how “easy” that biopsy surgery was
* you order Redi-Cat at bars
* know that radiation being “easier” than chemo is like saying losing your left little toe is easier than losing your right little toe
* laugh at people who tell you how tired they are because they stayed up to watch Leno
* get excited when you have 50 messages from hodgkins@solar.org
* think the person who describes the side effects of Neupogen as “mild to moderate bone pain” should be injected for a few weeks and re-evaluate his statement
* have a red “sharps” container in your bathroom
* have mood swings based on how low your white blood count is
* you don’t think any cancer is “the good cancer”
* you don’t think anything less than 3 days is really constipation
* you’ve been dissappointed by NOT having chemo
* know that chemo hair loss doesn’t stop at the head
* know that you can never thank your caregivers enough
* are no longer able to eat certain foods because you ate them during chemo
* have a least favorite chemo drug (Adria – the red death)
* know that “chemo brain” should be a documented medical condition
* you can get nauseaus just by walking into the treatment room
* been jealous b/c someone else’s chemo was shorter
* you think it’s normal when a stranger draws on you with marker
* you’ve made “deposits” at a bank other than a federally-insured repository
* you’re waiting for the chair catalog for Club Remission in the mail
* you’re not sure how to address Robert Glen Martin: Robert, Glen, or RGM
* you know how lucky you are to be laughing at this list
