So you were probably wondering, where in the world is Kendall? Have no fear, I have been slightly drugged up since I came out of the hospital and therefore not fit to right a proper blog. I tried a couple of times, but every time I would re-read it, I would be so confused by my own ramblings and thought chasing. Tuesday afternoon I was released from the hospital—or rather the looming fortress that controls my every movement. I felt such a sense of freedom, no IV’s, no tubes, no remote control airbed, and no chemo. However, I did feel the toll that the chemo (aka poison) had taken on my body the past 5 days. Those of you who know me, know that I am by no means frail and am actually inclined to contact sports and “horsing-around.” Leaving the hospital, it was all I could do not to pass out while transferring from the wheelchair to the passenger seat of my mom’s minivan. The rest of the day and Wednesday were kind of a whirlwind between light-headedness, nausea and just plain fatigue. Needless to say, it was a hard past couple of days, and yes sadly, there will be more days like those throughout this six month ordeal. I did however have a visit from my Uncle Tim which helped make the day go by faster, and of course, it’s always good to see family.
If you’re starting to feel a little sorry for me, you can stop now because today I woke up feeling great—in good spirits and in good health. I went into MD Anderson at 8 am for some blood work. Then at 10:30 am I had an appointment with my doctor. I feel like I should take a moment here and give Dr. Debbie Thomas a little introduction. Dr. Thomas on first site is a petite woman in her mid 40s, with dark graying hair, and very sharp features from her nose to chin to her small and highly intellectual eyes. You can just tell by meeting this woman that she is “the boss.” She has this aura about her that she knows what she’s doing—not just an aura, I think she actually is the best. This woman is incredible, when nurses ask me who my doctor is, and I say “Dr. Thomas,” they all get this look in their eyes, and they really make sure that they are on top of everything, and I mean everything. One nurse even called her “The Queen.” Anyways, I was at first a little intimidated by her because she is undoubtedly brilliant, but sitting in the office with her also made me feel protected in a way. When she told me that this lymphoma would be “a six month glitch in my life,” I definitely was relieved especially hearing it from her because I don’t think she would sugar-coat anything. She is definitely a demanding presence, but I know that she cares for her patients and I am so so thankful to be under her hawk-eyed care. Back to the actual doctor’s appointment, Dr. Thomas told me my WBC (white blood cell) counts looked good so far. I did have high bilirubin (has to do with the liver) and low potassium levels that will be getting checked again this Saturday. So far, so good. After that, I had a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) with a chemo injection. Sounds pretty horrible, right? Yea, it would seem so, but they give you relaxing medicine and numb up your back with local anesthesia (which is actually the part that hurts) and it only ends up being an uncomfortable 10 minute process. After that they make you lie on your back for a good hour or more so as to avoid excruciating head-aches, which I have not had. I was surprised when my mom entered the room with a good church-friend of ours, Amy Drake. The hour went by quickly, and it was so nice to see a familiar face in a place where everything is so foreign.
My mom and I have been searching for apartments because the place where we are living right now is more of a “temporary” lodging. It’s like a very nice hotel room, but I think for six months we are going to want something a little bigger and with a kitchen for sure.
I am excited to say that I will be going to my grandparents lakehouse for the weekend to relax. Actually, I think it is probably more for the benefit of my mother. Poor thing, she’s a trooper. (I will devote a future blog just to my mom.) I plan on watching lots of college football, eating my grandma’s mashed potatoes, and just spending time with my family, which is hard to come by these days. What with my mom and me in Houston and my dad and Kolby in Waco, but my family is strong, and I know that we’ll be able to stick it out.
I will try to be more diligent in my entries. I promise :)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sleepy Sunday
The upside of the day: two of my friends from Baylor (both of which are from Houston), stopped by my hospital room after lunch and brought me a movie, a magazine, Sudoku, and an awesome Christian CD (compliments of E. Eddy's mother). Larkin and Elizabeth's visit made my entire day, thanks girls :) Today was also the first day that I actually felt affected by the chemotherapy. While the girls were in the room, the nurse brought me some anti-nausea medicine, and right after they left, it knocked me out for 3 hours. I'm talking like I couldn't even open my eyes knocked out. When two of my best friends called me from Argentina, I don't even remember what I said to them (so sorry Emmy and Kara!!). Today, God showed me a couple things, one that my life is on hold/or just completely turned upside down, and two that everyone else's lives will and should continue whether or not I am there. It's a pretty humbling realization--we are such a self-centered people.
Tomorrow I start two new types of chemo--Day 4: (In-patient) Doxorubicin for 24 hours x 1 dose, Vincristine x 1 dose. Please pray that my body will react well to the chemo, and that God will give me energy to stay healthy.
I love receiving everyone's messages. I check them every day (and yes when I'm bored, 2 or 3 times a day), it brings me a lot of joy to hear from you all :) So thank you
Tomorrow I start two new types of chemo--Day 4: (In-patient) Doxorubicin for 24 hours x 1 dose, Vincristine x 1 dose. Please pray that my body will react well to the chemo, and that God will give me energy to stay healthy.
I love receiving everyone's messages. I check them every day (and yes when I'm bored, 2 or 3 times a day), it brings me a lot of joy to hear from you all :) So thank you
Friday, October 24, 2008
To Answer a Question...
Some of you have been asking for my address in Houston. We don't have a permanent home as of right now, but hopefully by the beginning of November we will have an apartment down here. As soon as we move, I will definitely inform you.
For the time being, if you want my address in Lorena, it's 5005 southwinds drive lorena, texas 76655. My dad will be coming down a lot, so whatever you mail there he can bring to Houston.
Love,
Kendall Faith
For the time being, if you want my address in Lorena, it's 5005 southwinds drive lorena, texas 76655. My dad will be coming down a lot, so whatever you mail there he can bring to Houston.
Love,
Kendall Faith
This Hospital just DOESN'T Sleep
As I had written in my previous blog, my expected time of admission into the hospital was supposed to be 2 pm. My mom and I arrived on time at the admissions office, only to be told by the front desk that the hospital was at 105% capacity. Is that even possible? A little frustrated, okay maybe very frustrated, my mom and I drove back to our temporary living arrangements. We got the call at 8:30, the women said, “You have a bed, but there is someone in it right now.” Hmm….those of you who know me or worse my mother can guess the reaction on that one. But the lady on the other line saved herself by adding after a brief silence, “come at 9:30 and we’ll be ready for you.”
At 9:30 I was admitted and taken up to my small hospital room. Right away all these sweet little workers were taking my vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse), extracting enough blood to feed a family of vampires, and were just in and out of the room. About an hour later, a man came in to put an IV on the side of my arm. By that time it was about 12. My mom and I dozed off in the room until around 2 when my nurse came in to start my chemo treatment. She started to explain to me about the chemo, its side-effects, etc. but I’m pretty sure only 20% went to my brain because I was so ridiculously tired. From 2 am until 5 am, there were three different nurses in and out of our room, taking vital signs every fifteen minutes (to make sure I didn’t have a bad reaction—which I didn’t) and of course drawing more blood. I know that there were some points when they had to physically move my arm to put the blood pressure band on it (I was so tired I couldn’t figure it out myself, yea, I’m goofy). The finger pulse taker fell off my finger probably 10 times and the little nurses had to get it for me because yet again, I was too drowsy to know what was going on. Anyways, I didn’t really feel any side effects with the first drug of the night, except maybe a slightly runny nose, sneezing, and itchy throat. After 3 hours of the first part of my chemo regimen, the nurse started shooting me up with a saline, antibiotic, and a nausea medicine. At 8, my nurse came in again to start another type of chemo, which took twice as long. When that had finished, around she put in more stuff, I’m not sure what it was, but whatever it was its still going to this very moment. Between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm, I had a CVC (central venous catheter) put in my chest (something that I never want to have to do again but probably will); an X-ray to make sure the catheter was positioned well into the vein, and a spinal tap to get some cerebral spinal fluid. Now, 8:15 pm, I will be taking another 3 hour round. After that, I'm thinking a good nights sleep is in order, but this hospital just doesn't sleep!!
I'm doing better than I thought I would be doing. Then I think, 6 months of this???? But when somebody posed this question to me, I thought twice. "You're giving up 6 months of your life to have the rest of your life." That's how I'm looking at it. A one step at a time kind of attitude. I say all this now, but its technically only been 24 hours since I was admitted. So, please pray for me that I can continue to have confidence that Christ is doing his will and also for the strength that only He can give. Thank you to all :)
At 9:30 I was admitted and taken up to my small hospital room. Right away all these sweet little workers were taking my vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse), extracting enough blood to feed a family of vampires, and were just in and out of the room. About an hour later, a man came in to put an IV on the side of my arm. By that time it was about 12. My mom and I dozed off in the room until around 2 when my nurse came in to start my chemo treatment. She started to explain to me about the chemo, its side-effects, etc. but I’m pretty sure only 20% went to my brain because I was so ridiculously tired. From 2 am until 5 am, there were three different nurses in and out of our room, taking vital signs every fifteen minutes (to make sure I didn’t have a bad reaction—which I didn’t) and of course drawing more blood. I know that there were some points when they had to physically move my arm to put the blood pressure band on it (I was so tired I couldn’t figure it out myself, yea, I’m goofy). The finger pulse taker fell off my finger probably 10 times and the little nurses had to get it for me because yet again, I was too drowsy to know what was going on. Anyways, I didn’t really feel any side effects with the first drug of the night, except maybe a slightly runny nose, sneezing, and itchy throat. After 3 hours of the first part of my chemo regimen, the nurse started shooting me up with a saline, antibiotic, and a nausea medicine. At 8, my nurse came in again to start another type of chemo, which took twice as long. When that had finished, around she put in more stuff, I’m not sure what it was, but whatever it was its still going to this very moment. Between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm, I had a CVC (central venous catheter) put in my chest (something that I never want to have to do again but probably will); an X-ray to make sure the catheter was positioned well into the vein, and a spinal tap to get some cerebral spinal fluid. Now, 8:15 pm, I will be taking another 3 hour round. After that, I'm thinking a good nights sleep is in order, but this hospital just doesn't sleep!!
I'm doing better than I thought I would be doing. Then I think, 6 months of this???? But when somebody posed this question to me, I thought twice. "You're giving up 6 months of your life to have the rest of your life." That's how I'm looking at it. A one step at a time kind of attitude. I say all this now, but its technically only been 24 hours since I was admitted. So, please pray for me that I can continue to have confidence that Christ is doing his will and also for the strength that only He can give. Thank you to all :)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Just call me a Houstonian
The test results given by Dr. Anderson
o My blood tests, bone marrow biopsy and heart tests came out well, no cause for worry
o My PET CT scan showed cancerous cells on my left kidney, left clavicle bone, 7th vertebrae, right side of the pelvic bone, and of course my neck. It is normal for the cancer to be spread out since I did have high-grade (fast-growing) lymphoma.
He concurred that I have Burkitt-type Lymphoma, but told us that the cancer cells are very similar to the cancer cells of leukemia. Since the type of Lymphoma I have and Leukemia are treated the same way (with the same type of chemo), Dr. Anderson transferred me to Dr. Deborah Thomas, who is a leukemia doctor. She told us the same exact thing as Dr. Anderson. She also told us what my chemo regimen will be like:
8 cycles (5 to 6 months)
Each cycle is as follows:
o 5 days of hospitalized chemotherapy with two spinal taps during this period
o 14 days of rest
o During days of rest—3 times each week I will have blood tests in the hospital to make sure my blood counts are not too low.
My parents and I asked the doctor in her opinion if we should have the blood tests done at home in Waco. She told us that in all honesty it would be better to stay in Houston to have it done; her reasons being the quality of care, the high likelihood of a need for blood transfusions (which they are easily equipped and capable of doing at MD Anderson), and in case of emergency. Needless to say, my parents have already found my mom and me a permanent apartment less than 10 miles from the hospital to stay. I will be able to come back to Waco for 3 to 7 day intervals, depending on my blood count. I am also, thankfully, allowed visitors whenever I want, provided that they are not sick. The chemotherapy will be knocking my white blood cells down and I won’t have a lot of resistance to illness, so I will have to become more of a “germ freak” than I already am—let’s hope I don’t become too OCD.
As of right now, I start my chemo treatments this Thursday, October 23rd and will finish on Monday, October 27th. Sadly, I will miss Baylor homecoming, pigskin, etc, but I am definitely there in spirit :)
Thanks again to all of you who care enough for me to read this blog and pray for me and my family. I will try to keep everyone updated. Please continue to pray—God really does answer prayers.
o My blood tests, bone marrow biopsy and heart tests came out well, no cause for worry
o My PET CT scan showed cancerous cells on my left kidney, left clavicle bone, 7th vertebrae, right side of the pelvic bone, and of course my neck. It is normal for the cancer to be spread out since I did have high-grade (fast-growing) lymphoma.
He concurred that I have Burkitt-type Lymphoma, but told us that the cancer cells are very similar to the cancer cells of leukemia. Since the type of Lymphoma I have and Leukemia are treated the same way (with the same type of chemo), Dr. Anderson transferred me to Dr. Deborah Thomas, who is a leukemia doctor. She told us the same exact thing as Dr. Anderson. She also told us what my chemo regimen will be like:
8 cycles (5 to 6 months)
Each cycle is as follows:
o 5 days of hospitalized chemotherapy with two spinal taps during this period
o 14 days of rest
o During days of rest—3 times each week I will have blood tests in the hospital to make sure my blood counts are not too low.
My parents and I asked the doctor in her opinion if we should have the blood tests done at home in Waco. She told us that in all honesty it would be better to stay in Houston to have it done; her reasons being the quality of care, the high likelihood of a need for blood transfusions (which they are easily equipped and capable of doing at MD Anderson), and in case of emergency. Needless to say, my parents have already found my mom and me a permanent apartment less than 10 miles from the hospital to stay. I will be able to come back to Waco for 3 to 7 day intervals, depending on my blood count. I am also, thankfully, allowed visitors whenever I want, provided that they are not sick. The chemotherapy will be knocking my white blood cells down and I won’t have a lot of resistance to illness, so I will have to become more of a “germ freak” than I already am—let’s hope I don’t become too OCD.
As of right now, I start my chemo treatments this Thursday, October 23rd and will finish on Monday, October 27th. Sadly, I will miss Baylor homecoming, pigskin, etc, but I am definitely there in spirit :)
Thanks again to all of you who care enough for me to read this blog and pray for me and my family. I will try to keep everyone updated. Please continue to pray—God really does answer prayers.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Timeline
Cordoba, Argentina--July 2ish, 2008
While on a trip to Cordoba with my dear friend Lauren Brown, I felt a small lump below my jaw bone, to the right. I'm not a hypochondriac at all, in fact, I'm far from it. So when I randomly felt it one day, I didn't really think anything of it.
Mendoza, Argentina--July 28ish, 2008
I woke up one morning after a long night out with my friends to an incredibly swollen and very painful bump (or rather, third cheek) on my face. It was so inflamed that my host-mom, Sylvia, took me to the emergency room that day to get it checked out. They gave me an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, the swelling went down a little after three or four days, but it remained a well-defined ball on the right side of my face.
Mendoza, Argentina--August 4ish, 2008
My dad came to Mendoza to visit, needless to say, he was pretty concerned at this random growth. Since he was there, and I was his un-official tour guide, I wasn't able to go to the doctor again until after he left.
Mendoza, Argentina--August 14ish to September 25ish, 2008
I went from doctor to doctor to doctor in Mendoza; I was thoroughly frustrated at the slowness of their health care system and missed the efficiency of U.S. hospitals. This should give you an idea of the pulling and tossing the doctors did to me there. The first doctor sent me to another doctor to get blood work done. So I went and had my blood drawn, the next day returned to the first doctor but after looking at the blood work results, he thought it was an abscessed tooth. He sent me to a dentist. The dentist sent me to a different doctor to get an x-ray, who then sent me to a different doctor to get a different type of x-ray. I then went back to the dentist with the x-rays, and he told me it wasn't a tooth, so he sent me to another doctor. I went to the general practitioner who told me it had to be a salivary gland, so he sent me to get get an x-ray of my kneck and lower face. I took the x-ray back to the doctor. The findings were inconclusive, so he sent me to an ear/nose/throat specialist. The specialist told me it was for sure a stopped up salivary duct, so he sent me to get a needle biopsy (which are about 30 years out of date in the U.S.) and an ultrasound of "the bump." The needle biopsy just showed a bunch of different types of white blood cells. The new specialist then sent me to a different ear/nose/throat specialist who made me have yet another needle biopsy. By this time, I had been calling my dad about everyday, venting and telling him how slow it was going and how frustrated I was. I told him I just wanted to come home to have it taken care of but at the same time I didn't want to leave early. My dad and mom made the executive decision to change my flight to New York (for the 4th of October) to go to Dallas/Fort Worth on July 27th. I went to the second specialist on the 25th just to see the results to see if they had figured anything out, but the specialist told me that the best idea would be to return to the U.S. Thankfully, my parents had made the right decision and I told him I was already going home in two days. Confusing, right??? And the worst part is, you have to pick up all of your own test results from every appointment, and bring them to other doctors to have them analyzed. It's not like in the U.S. where the doctors can fax them, email or mail them.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX--September 28, 2008
I arrived back to my sweet home of the U.S. of A!!!
Waco, TX--September 29, 2008
I had my first consultation with Dr. Jim Tandy--an ear/nose/throat specialist and family friend from church. He sent me to Providence Hospital to have blood tests and a CT scan.
Waco, TX--September 30, 2008
Tuesday, we went back to Dr. Tandy's office to see my results. He told me it was not my salivary gland, but actually a lymph node. What had taken over two months in Argentina to figure out had taken a total of two days. Dr. Tandy scheduled me for a biopsy, not a needle biopsy like the did in Argentina, but an actual sliver biopsy where they would put me under, cut a 2 inch slit under "the bump" (yes, I have a pretty sweet scar), and take out a large enough piece to get better results. He told me that there were many things it could be, more than likely some sort of virus or infectious disease i had picked up in my travels. He did tell me that there was a slight chance that it could be lymphoma--or cancer of the lymphatic system, but the odds of this were very slight.
Waco, TX--October 1, 2008
Dr. Tandy performs the biopsy. He told my mom that the results should be back by next Wednesday at the earliest--exactly a week away. He also said that what he saw was three very large lymph nodes, which could be a sign of an infectious disease that had taken hold of them, or lymphoma. I woke up from the anastesia, groggy and sore as heck, but excited that it was over and I was headed towards an answer and a solution. As well as New York City for my sister's wedding.
New York, New York--October 3, 2008
Arrive in NYC for my sister's wedding.
New York, New York--October 8, 2008
My dad calls from Texas to tell my mom, sister and I that the biopsy report was back and that I have lymphoma.
New York, New York—October 8 to 11, 2008
We prepared for the wedding. My dad made an appointment for me with an oncologist in Waco, and at the urging of Dr. Tilson (my brother-in-laws father), he also made an appointment at M.D. Anderson in Houston.
Waco, Texas—October 14, 2008
I went to an oncologist in Waco the very next morning that I got back from New York. He told me that I had high-grade, type-B, non-Hodgkins lymphoma (aka Burkitt's Lymphoma). He told us that only 5% of all lymphoma patients are diagnosed with this particular type of lymphoma, and that because it is so uncommon (but not necessarily worse than others), it would be best for us to go to either Dallas or Houston to a bigger hospital asap. Yet again, by the grace of God, we already had an appointment in two days.
Houston, Texas—October 16, 2008
I had an appointment with Dr. McLaughlin, who is specialized in Lymphoma. He was extremely nice and a little quirky, which as you know, I myself am a bit quirky, so naturally I really liked him. After, I had blood taken for some testing, a chest CT scan, and then a pelvis and abdomen CT scan.
Houston, Texas—October 17, 2008
On Friday I had a Cardiac scan and a Bone Marrow aspiration/biopsy (a very strange and slightly painful testing).
Waco, Texas—October 17-19, 2008
After the testing, I returned home for the weekend to spend some time with my family and my two best friends from High School.
Houston, Texas—October 20, 2008
I had a renal ultrasound, resting EKG test, and a PET CT scan. I don’t expect everyone to know what the tests mean, but basically they are doing all these tests to have a base to compare my future test results with for when I am in chemo. Also, some of them will tell us if the cancer has spread.
Houston, Texas—October 21, 2008
Meeting with Dr. Anderson to get the results at 3:00 pm. We will also discuss my chemo regimen, its schedule, its effects, etc. I will definitely update as soon as I can on Tuesday evening.
I DO INTEND ON KEEPING THIS UPDATED BECAUSE I REALIZE THAT THIS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET THE FULL STORY OUT TO EVERYONE WITHOUT BEING ON THE PHONE OR COMPUTER ALL DAY :)
I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR YOUR CONCERN BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY YOUR CONSTANT PRAYERS. I ENJOY READING YOUR EMAILS, MESSAGES, TEXTS, ETC. THEY REALLY DO GIVE ME COURAGE AND HELP TO KEEP MY ATTITUDE POSITIVE.
THANKS AGAIN!
love,
Kendall
While on a trip to Cordoba with my dear friend Lauren Brown, I felt a small lump below my jaw bone, to the right. I'm not a hypochondriac at all, in fact, I'm far from it. So when I randomly felt it one day, I didn't really think anything of it.
Mendoza, Argentina--July 28ish, 2008
I woke up one morning after a long night out with my friends to an incredibly swollen and very painful bump (or rather, third cheek) on my face. It was so inflamed that my host-mom, Sylvia, took me to the emergency room that day to get it checked out. They gave me an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, the swelling went down a little after three or four days, but it remained a well-defined ball on the right side of my face.
Mendoza, Argentina--August 4ish, 2008
My dad came to Mendoza to visit, needless to say, he was pretty concerned at this random growth. Since he was there, and I was his un-official tour guide, I wasn't able to go to the doctor again until after he left.
Mendoza, Argentina--August 14ish to September 25ish, 2008
I went from doctor to doctor to doctor in Mendoza; I was thoroughly frustrated at the slowness of their health care system and missed the efficiency of U.S. hospitals. This should give you an idea of the pulling and tossing the doctors did to me there. The first doctor sent me to another doctor to get blood work done. So I went and had my blood drawn, the next day returned to the first doctor but after looking at the blood work results, he thought it was an abscessed tooth. He sent me to a dentist. The dentist sent me to a different doctor to get an x-ray, who then sent me to a different doctor to get a different type of x-ray. I then went back to the dentist with the x-rays, and he told me it wasn't a tooth, so he sent me to another doctor. I went to the general practitioner who told me it had to be a salivary gland, so he sent me to get get an x-ray of my kneck and lower face. I took the x-ray back to the doctor. The findings were inconclusive, so he sent me to an ear/nose/throat specialist. The specialist told me it was for sure a stopped up salivary duct, so he sent me to get a needle biopsy (which are about 30 years out of date in the U.S.) and an ultrasound of "the bump." The needle biopsy just showed a bunch of different types of white blood cells. The new specialist then sent me to a different ear/nose/throat specialist who made me have yet another needle biopsy. By this time, I had been calling my dad about everyday, venting and telling him how slow it was going and how frustrated I was. I told him I just wanted to come home to have it taken care of but at the same time I didn't want to leave early. My dad and mom made the executive decision to change my flight to New York (for the 4th of October) to go to Dallas/Fort Worth on July 27th. I went to the second specialist on the 25th just to see the results to see if they had figured anything out, but the specialist told me that the best idea would be to return to the U.S. Thankfully, my parents had made the right decision and I told him I was already going home in two days. Confusing, right??? And the worst part is, you have to pick up all of your own test results from every appointment, and bring them to other doctors to have them analyzed. It's not like in the U.S. where the doctors can fax them, email or mail them.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX--September 28, 2008
I arrived back to my sweet home of the U.S. of A!!!
Waco, TX--September 29, 2008
I had my first consultation with Dr. Jim Tandy--an ear/nose/throat specialist and family friend from church. He sent me to Providence Hospital to have blood tests and a CT scan.
Waco, TX--September 30, 2008
Tuesday, we went back to Dr. Tandy's office to see my results. He told me it was not my salivary gland, but actually a lymph node. What had taken over two months in Argentina to figure out had taken a total of two days. Dr. Tandy scheduled me for a biopsy, not a needle biopsy like the did in Argentina, but an actual sliver biopsy where they would put me under, cut a 2 inch slit under "the bump" (yes, I have a pretty sweet scar), and take out a large enough piece to get better results. He told me that there were many things it could be, more than likely some sort of virus or infectious disease i had picked up in my travels. He did tell me that there was a slight chance that it could be lymphoma--or cancer of the lymphatic system, but the odds of this were very slight.
Waco, TX--October 1, 2008
Dr. Tandy performs the biopsy. He told my mom that the results should be back by next Wednesday at the earliest--exactly a week away. He also said that what he saw was three very large lymph nodes, which could be a sign of an infectious disease that had taken hold of them, or lymphoma. I woke up from the anastesia, groggy and sore as heck, but excited that it was over and I was headed towards an answer and a solution. As well as New York City for my sister's wedding.
New York, New York--October 3, 2008
Arrive in NYC for my sister's wedding.
New York, New York--October 8, 2008
My dad calls from Texas to tell my mom, sister and I that the biopsy report was back and that I have lymphoma.
New York, New York—October 8 to 11, 2008
We prepared for the wedding. My dad made an appointment for me with an oncologist in Waco, and at the urging of Dr. Tilson (my brother-in-laws father), he also made an appointment at M.D. Anderson in Houston.
Waco, Texas—October 14, 2008
I went to an oncologist in Waco the very next morning that I got back from New York. He told me that I had high-grade, type-B, non-Hodgkins lymphoma (aka Burkitt's Lymphoma). He told us that only 5% of all lymphoma patients are diagnosed with this particular type of lymphoma, and that because it is so uncommon (but not necessarily worse than others), it would be best for us to go to either Dallas or Houston to a bigger hospital asap. Yet again, by the grace of God, we already had an appointment in two days.
Houston, Texas—October 16, 2008
I had an appointment with Dr. McLaughlin, who is specialized in Lymphoma. He was extremely nice and a little quirky, which as you know, I myself am a bit quirky, so naturally I really liked him. After, I had blood taken for some testing, a chest CT scan, and then a pelvis and abdomen CT scan.
Houston, Texas—October 17, 2008
On Friday I had a Cardiac scan and a Bone Marrow aspiration/biopsy (a very strange and slightly painful testing).
Waco, Texas—October 17-19, 2008
After the testing, I returned home for the weekend to spend some time with my family and my two best friends from High School.
Houston, Texas—October 20, 2008
I had a renal ultrasound, resting EKG test, and a PET CT scan. I don’t expect everyone to know what the tests mean, but basically they are doing all these tests to have a base to compare my future test results with for when I am in chemo. Also, some of them will tell us if the cancer has spread.
Houston, Texas—October 21, 2008
Meeting with Dr. Anderson to get the results at 3:00 pm. We will also discuss my chemo regimen, its schedule, its effects, etc. I will definitely update as soon as I can on Tuesday evening.
I DO INTEND ON KEEPING THIS UPDATED BECAUSE I REALIZE THAT THIS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET THE FULL STORY OUT TO EVERYONE WITHOUT BEING ON THE PHONE OR COMPUTER ALL DAY :)
I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR YOUR CONCERN BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY YOUR CONSTANT PRAYERS. I ENJOY READING YOUR EMAILS, MESSAGES, TEXTS, ETC. THEY REALLY DO GIVE ME COURAGE AND HELP TO KEEP MY ATTITUDE POSITIVE.
THANKS AGAIN!
love,
Kendall
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