Looks like it's a go for the surgery. I will be going in on Dec. 16th. It may move up, but I don't think that will happen as I need a number of shots (vaccines) to get me ready for the removal of my spleen. I have 2 down and 2 to go. Next shots are Dec1st. They take about 2 weeks to take effect (good or bad) and that will put me in time with the 16th.
till next time,
vic
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Met with the surgeon yeaterday. Seems very nice and I liked him. He only deals with large spleens, so seeing the size of mine didn't seem to frazzle him. He did mention that I am carring around a health 8 Kilo spleen. Roughly about 18 pounds. WOW!!!.... A normal spleen is about 1-2 pounds depending on height and weight etc.
Basically he said that I should get it taken out. I'm still healthy enough to do the surgery now. He doesn't advise me to start chemo and then have to stop to have the surgery. The chemo would then be non effective. He did say again that once the spleen is removed, my lymphoma may go into remission itself. With no need for chemo for a couple of years. That's the good news. On the other hand, this will be major surgery with it being so big. And like any major surgery, there are risks. The risks are low as they only coincide with having a major operation. I will be in the hospital for 3-5 days and at home for about 6-8 weeks. They are trying to get me in ( and think they will) before the end of December. So happy holidays..............
I have to meet with my other Dr. next week to make the final plan. I think he will go along with the surgeon's recommendations. I assume my chemo that was scheduled for next week and Dec. will be canceled.
till next time,
vic
Basically he said that I should get it taken out. I'm still healthy enough to do the surgery now. He doesn't advise me to start chemo and then have to stop to have the surgery. The chemo would then be non effective. He did say again that once the spleen is removed, my lymphoma may go into remission itself. With no need for chemo for a couple of years. That's the good news. On the other hand, this will be major surgery with it being so big. And like any major surgery, there are risks. The risks are low as they only coincide with having a major operation. I will be in the hospital for 3-5 days and at home for about 6-8 weeks. They are trying to get me in ( and think they will) before the end of December. So happy holidays..............
I have to meet with my other Dr. next week to make the final plan. I think he will go along with the surgeon's recommendations. I assume my chemo that was scheduled for next week and Dec. will be canceled.
till next time,
vic
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Well, looks like the wait is over ... somewhat.
I met with a new Doctor today and looks like we have some direction. I have what they call Splenic Marginal Zone lymphoma. It's part of the non-Hodgkins Lymphoma family. Instead of going into detail use the link below for more info
http://www.lymphomainfo.net/nhl/types/smzl.html
My new Doctor is really good. I'm glad that they didn't move me from PMH. I was told it could happen if my condition wasn't that bad and could be treated closer to home. I guess having a very rare condition, they wanted to keep me here.
This is what happens now. The Dr. wants to start right away. One way to really put this into remission is to have my spleen removed. I have to meet with a spleen surgeon first. With my spleen being so big ( I mean really big ) my Dr. wants to be sure we don't have any complications cause of it's size. I also have to go for another CT scan. Again, to check the size of the spleen and see if anything else has changed in there. Once those are done, I will meet with My Dr. and decide which way to go. He has already booking my chemo sessions incase taking out the spleen is not an option. Don't know when, but I assume it will be right away, like next month.
If they take out the spleen, my condition may go into remission itself. I will have to take drugs to help with common viruses. If they can't take it out ( cause the complications and risks are too high ) they will do chemo. Either way looks like they might do it. Don't know what the sessions will be but he did say that it will 2 years before i'm done the first round. The drug of choice is Rituxan. He says it's very good and has been used for about 15 yrs. It's not curable, but it is treatable and manageable. I should be able to get a good 8-12 yrs in, ( right from his mouth ) SHIT!!!! Oh well, least that will take me to retirement-ish age. I will stretch this out as long as I can, and fight it as hard as I can. This last part is really hard and it is the last I'm going to talk about it.
Till next time,
vik
I met with a new Doctor today and looks like we have some direction. I have what they call Splenic Marginal Zone lymphoma. It's part of the non-Hodgkins Lymphoma family. Instead of going into detail use the link below for more info
http://www.lymphomainfo.net/nhl/types/smzl.html
My new Doctor is really good. I'm glad that they didn't move me from PMH. I was told it could happen if my condition wasn't that bad and could be treated closer to home. I guess having a very rare condition, they wanted to keep me here.
This is what happens now. The Dr. wants to start right away. One way to really put this into remission is to have my spleen removed. I have to meet with a spleen surgeon first. With my spleen being so big ( I mean really big ) my Dr. wants to be sure we don't have any complications cause of it's size. I also have to go for another CT scan. Again, to check the size of the spleen and see if anything else has changed in there. Once those are done, I will meet with My Dr. and decide which way to go. He has already booking my chemo sessions incase taking out the spleen is not an option. Don't know when, but I assume it will be right away, like next month.
If they take out the spleen, my condition may go into remission itself. I will have to take drugs to help with common viruses. If they can't take it out ( cause the complications and risks are too high ) they will do chemo. Either way looks like they might do it. Don't know what the sessions will be but he did say that it will 2 years before i'm done the first round. The drug of choice is Rituxan. He says it's very good and has been used for about 15 yrs. It's not curable, but it is treatable and manageable. I should be able to get a good 8-12 yrs in, ( right from his mouth ) SHIT!!!! Oh well, least that will take me to retirement-ish age. I will stretch this out as long as I can, and fight it as hard as I can. This last part is really hard and it is the last I'm going to talk about it.
Till next time,
vik
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