Answers....

After a very long day, we finally have some concrete answers.

We arrived at Huntsman at 5:55 am this morning (yes extremely early for me), where I was taken back to begin my PET scan. This is probably the coolest thing I have ever encountered thus far. A PET scan for those of you not familiar, is a hideously expensive CT scan, that involves a Dr. (aka Frankenstein in the basement) making a mixture of radioactive glucose to inject into my body. After about an hour and a half, you go in for a CT scan and anywhere the cancer is in the body will show up as a "hot spot" on the computer screen. Seriously. Cool. In all this took about 2 hours.

My next stop was with my actual oncologist who will be in charge of my treatment and proper staging of my cancer. After reading my PET scan and a few other tests already performed she informed me that my proper staging was: Hodgkin's Lymphoma NS: Stage IIA-unfavorable. (That was a tad unsettling to hear the word "unfavorable" but my concern quickly dissapated). Stage II typically means that you have the cancer in numerous lymph nodes, but they are all localized above the diaphragm. The unfavorable part doesn't mean I have a lower survival rate, it just means that the cancer includes a large mass (which today measured at just over 8cm- which means it grew 7mm in 3 weeks... ).  Oh and no bone marrow aspiration for me, that made my day. Seriously.

Now for the treatment. I will be receiving my porta-cath on Monday. A porta-cath is basically a catheter they stick in your chest and feed into the jugular vein. This is where they will take blood and administer my chemotherapy for the duration of the treatments. It is a quick out patient surgery and will save my veins tremendously.

As for the Chemo-I begin on Tuesday. The type of chemo they will administer is called ABVD (which isn't nearly as harsh as it used to be-good thing). I will then have chemo every two weeks for the next four months. After which I will have a couple weeks to recover and then begin my radiation regimen. This will be given everyday (Monday thru Friday) for four weeks. Once I reach this point I should  be in remission. Follow up consists of being scanned every 3 months (for 2 years) to make sure the Cancer doesn't come back.

Then I was off again for another chest xray, echo-cardiogram (which checked my heart to make sure it pumps blood properly), and a pulmonary function test. We finally left the hospital at 5:15 pm. A very productive long day.

As to address my feelings at this point, I would say any stress I had as left. The stress of not knowing was the worst part. I knew it was cancer, but I didn't know how much and where it all was. Now that I know what I am up against, I know I can kick this thing without any trouble. The next 6 months won't be easy, but it's not anything I can't handle with a positive attitude, great support, and the lords help.

A big shout out to all those who have visited my blog and to those who have shared such kind words with me. I love you all very much and remember
"Love Conquers Cancer" :)