One year ago, Galen received a diagnosis of Large B-Cell Lymphoma. He completed six rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy at Cleveland Clinic and did very well throughout. We felt excited to be done with cancer! Typically, the follow up would have been to return for a PET scan in 6 months but because of the aggressive nature of this cancer, we were scheduled to return for a PET scan in 3 months. When we went back in three months, our doctor was a little surprised that the area where the tumor had been (now scar tissue) had not been better assimilated by the body. We left Cleveland, returning home asking everyone to pray that the scar tissue would be dissolved. Galen began having symptoms again similar to those that originally led us to doctors and enabled them to find the cancer, but worse. He was loosing feeling in his feet and legs, then his fingers, hands, and arms. Then both of his big toenails started turning black. Then he began having headaches and his brain felt weird. We got in for another PET scan and the doctor told us that there was a small rim around the scar tissue that was lighting up. He ordered a biopsy of the tissue and it came back as necrotic (dead) tissue. We felt great relief. The symptoms were attributed to side effects of chemo and an accumulation of scar tissue. The symptoms eventually began to subside. We were scheduled to return for a follow-up PET scan at the end of September. The area that lit up in the previous scan now showed up larger. The doctor told us that we now needed an aggressive treatment plan. Someone told us to contact the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. We did and scheduled an informational visit to learn if we had any other options. Although the treatment plan was the same, we were very impressed with their program and decided to get our treatment in their Philadelphia center. The plan of treatment is a more aggressive chemo called RICE. It will be done as a three-day in-patient procedure. We will have two courses and then they will begin a process call “harvesting” his own stem cells for a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. The facility is wonderful here. Before we were admitted today for his first round of chemo, we went for a walk on their walking path. You will notice the path names on the signs. Faith is an important element here. I have also included pictures of our room here on the stem cell transplant unit, a beautiful picture in our room and the view from our window. It is very nice and they are taking wonderful care of Galen. We both feel that we are in the right place and are thankful to be here.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 02:28:03 +0000
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