I am scheduled for a PET scan on Wednesday, July 29 (no, this is not a visit to the veterinarian, but rather a test to see which cells in my body are rapidly reproducing), and then going to Mayo in the next two weeks to see a lymphoma specialist.
Thank you for praying. God has a purpose for us in both good health and in suffering. He sure did with his Son, and I know He does for us as well.
I’ll do my best to keep you updated via this website.
Love,
Nathan & Julie
Since then it’s been a roller coaster of emotions. I got poked for a blood test on Wednesday (I don’t like getting poked), then poked again on Thursday for a CT Scan (where they found a bunch of enlarged lymph nodes all over my body-poking is still not my favorite thing to do-however, if you’re looking for a really weird sensation, get a CT scan. It’s kind of like having a hot tub poured into your arteries), then got poked again today for another blood test (have I mentioned I don’t like getting poked?).
Today I saw the oncologist. Nice guy with good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first? The good news? Ok. The good news is that the lymphoma I have is slow growing and not aggressive. Even though the cancer cells are in stage 3 (i.e. in many parts of my body), I am not in immediate danger. It seems to be limited to the lymph system. That’s good.
The bad news is that the lymphoma I have is slow growing and not aggressive. Yes, you read correctly, no typo. Seems weird, but since this type of lymphoma is slow, it isn’t as responsive to chemotherapy. Chemo targets cells that grow quickly. So since only a few of the cancer cells in my lymph system are growing quickly, only a few of them die. This means that the chemo can reduce the number of cancer cells, but never actually get rid of them, so the beast could rear its ugly head again at any time.
I have cancer.
Wow, I can’t believe I just wrote that about me, but it’s true. I discovered a lump in my neck this spring about the size of a grape. Didn’t think much of it, it was the end of the spring cold/flu season, so I thought it would go away, but it stayed into the summer. I finally decided to get it checked out a few weeks ago in Urgent Care; they referred me to an ENT doctor. The ENT aspirated the lump (i.e. stuck a needle the size of a pitchfork in my neck to get a sample) and determined it was lymph tissue. The next step was to do a biopsy. So I went in on Friday, July 9th for an office visit surgery. They shot me up with lydocaine which made my neck numb all the way up to my left ear lobe, and then they dug in. I now know what a fish feels like when you pick it up by the gills. But he got the lump and sent it in for a biopsy. No big deal, I thought, probably just benign. So I left for Wood Lake Bible Camp to speak for a bunch of 2nd-4th graders. And it was a great week, until the very last day. Julie surprised me by driving up on Wednesday night, but it wasn’t with good news.
