Update: John's 6 month PET scan

Yesterday, John had an appointment with Dr. Sunita Nasta, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to get the results of the 6 month PET scan to see if his cancer has returned or not.  For those of you new to my blog, you can read John's full story here.  You can also read more of John's story by clicking on the Label, CANCER SUCKS on my sidebar.


** NOTE:  my brother Michael describes a PET scan (positron emission tomography)  as this:  they make you drink nuclear shit and then they x-ray you, similar to a CT scan.  If anything lights up, you probably have cancer.   


Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, John had his semi-annual PET scan done.  We drove to HUP for his appointment.
When he had his appointment in October 2010, Dr. Nasta leaped into the air as she popped into the room, with a big grin on her face and pronounced YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVER!!!  


Not so much this time.


Yesterday, she walked into the room, no smile on her face.  Oh shit.  This isn't good.


She told us that the scan showed 2 very small nodes, less than a centimeter in diameter each.  For those of us Americans who are not metric literate, a centimeter is about 1/3 of an inch. Teeny tiny.  


But they lit up and that's not good.  One in the groin, one in the neck.  They are so small she couldn't even feel them.


She asked if John had been sick recently or had a fever.  Nope.  He has lost about 10 pounds since his last visit.  He does get tired and often falls asleep when he gets home from work at 4 pm.  


So John had 2 choices.  He could get an ultra-sound and she'd then do a biopsy (on a teeny tiny node that she can't feel), or John could get another PET scan in 6 weeks to see if they grew and to also see if they light up again.  He opted to get the PET scan at the end of June (6 weeks will have gone by since his last one) and see her again on July 6.


There is a possibility that the lighting up was a fluke caused by a fever or virus that John wasn't aware of.  Or the scanner in the lab is new and maybe a little "enthusiastic" in his interpretation of the scan.  


So, now John has an appointment on June 28 for his scan and then an appointment on July 6 to get the results.  If the scan shows the nodes are cancerous again, John will have to start yet another round of Chemo.


We went to the Potbelly Sandwich Shop to grab a bite, since John had been fasting all day.  While we were there, we discussed it, calmly.  Again, we are taking a positive approach.  This is another battle in this war called Cancer.  He's not going to let this get him down.  Hopefully, the next test will be a good one and we can relax for a few months again.   If not, well, I guess I'll be driving the Schuylkill Expressway into Center City Philadelphia quite often again.   I think I should get my AAA membership renewed.

One Word Wednesday: Gift

GIFT

This week's word is Gift.  Today I want to talk about the gift of life, in particular, the incredible gift that John was given last year, the summer of 2009.  


John was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma in June 2007.  It was all down the left side of his body, in his neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis.  John underwent 6 months of chemo and went into remission. Over the next 2 years John's cancer came back twice.  He had his spleen removed in Jan 2009.  

Three months later it was back.  He went to the University of Pennsylvania, where a Lymphoma specialist told him she could do a stem cell transplant and get rid of his cancer once and for all.  She was going to completely destroy John's immune system and then do a stem cell transplant to build a brand new immune system, using John's own stem cells!!  However, it was a dangerous treatment and it could possibly kill him.  If the chemo didn't kill him, he could possibly develop Leukemia 10 to 20 years down the road.  John said,  "You can give me 10 to 20 more years?  Let's do it!"  Who know what strides the medical community can make in 10 years?


The summer of 2009, John went through 3 rounds of very high dose chemo.  He handled it like it was nothing!  His bone marrow was still good, so they harvested his own stem cells for transplant in August.  

John, recovering at home after the transplant, Sept. 2009

John was supposed to be in the hospital, following the transplant for about a month.  He was released in 12 days!  He entered the hospital for the last round of chemo and transplant on August 21.  He went back to work on September 21!!  John's re-birthday is August 28, and we celebrate it every year!  

John, boogying with my daughter, Gina at my niece's wedding October 2009

He looks like Daddy Warbucks!

John was getting PET scans every 3 months for a year to check to see if his cancer has returned and so far, it hasn't!!  It's been 16 months and John's been cancer free all this time!

John, October 2010 just after learning he's till cancer free!

Dr. Sunita Nasta has given John the gift of his life!  We appreciate every day and celebrate John's good health!

Jill, at Jillsy Girl is the host of One Word Wednesday.  Every week, she gives us a word to blog.  We can write a story, post a picture, a poem, a song.  Whatever we want!  Check her out!!  You can also see what everyone else is blogging about too.

One Word Wednesday: Passion

Passion

If I ever get married again, this is the song I want to dance to.  It says everything I feel when I think of John and me.  He woke a passion in me that I thought was dead and gone forever. It hasn't diminished a bit in 4 years, and I don't think it's going away any time soon.   And nobody can sing it like Miss Etta James.

I give you....

At Last

At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last

If you want to play along, Jillsy Girl has the rules right here.