Wow, it has certainly been awhile and it is time for an update!  Last month I finished 2 years of Rituxan maintenance therapy and am still in remission :)))  Whoot whoot!

REMISSION!!!!!

I have some very, very good news to report. As of today, I'm officially back in REMISSION!!!! Whoo-hoooo!!!!

I finished my chemotherapy regimen in January and had a PET/CT scan earlier this week. I got the results this afternoon and I feel so ecstatic, relieved, and happy.

I have been fighting this bout of cancer for over a year. The chemo regimen was tough, but now I can say that it was absolutely worth it!!!

I still have to go through 2 years of maintenance therapy with Rituxan as the latest studies show that it really helps people stay in remission longer. So I'm looking forward to a nice looooooong remission.

Thank you so much to all of you that have followed and helped me on this arduous journey. I will still post occasionally to let you how the Rituxan maintenance is going.

Hooray to remission, my oncologist, my partner, my family and friends!!

Really, really good news!!!

So I got my scan results back and I'm extremely happy and relieved to report that there is no evidence of lymphoma!!! After only 3 treatments, the chemo is kicking my cancer's ass. I still have to undergo 3 more rounds of treatment to make sure all of the lymphoma is gone, including at the microscopic level. But knowing that the treatment is working is like having a ton of bricks removed from my shoulders. I have been fighting this bout of cancer for almost a year and it's been a looooonnngg year, but in 3 more months I should officially be back in remission :) Now, I have to start really thinking about the things I want to accomplish when I have my health back - which is such a gift!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting ready for my 3rd round of treatment

It's funny the way time passes so slowly sometimes and then so quickly at others. So in this haphazard way I suddenly find myself just a couple of days before my next round of chemo. I'm a bit nervous for the next treatment, but more than anything I'm happy to know that once I make it through this round, I'll officially be halfway done with treatment. So I definitely think some celebrating will be in order. :)

Also, I will be a getting a pet/ct scan in a couple of weeks. This scan will reveal how well the chemo is working. So I'm really excited to get a scan done and hopefully hear some really good news!

Please keep me in your thoughts, prayers and well wishes. I'll write as soon as I know more.

Love,
Ness

Feeling Better and Good News:)

Just a quick report. I'm feeling much, much better these past couple of days. Unfortunately, I still get tired really easily, but that's about it. So I'm taking it easy and about to watch one of my favorite movies: Interview with a Vampire. Now that's what I call a good afternoon :)

Yesterday, I spoke with my oncologist about all the side effects I had and his response was actually very encouraging. He stated that the reason I had such a bad reaction to the Benda and Rituxan was because the drugs were actually responding against my lymphoma. In layman's terms, I think this means that the drugs were killing off a lot of cancer cells and my adverse reaction was actually due to so many cancer cells being killed off. In other words, my adverse reaction was actually a good thing in terms of getting rid of my cancer. Crazy, huh?! He also thinks that next time I won't have a reaction or that my reaction will be minimal because there won't be as much lymphoma in my body. So while the road's been tough, it sounds like it's all very worth it. In addition, I will have scans after my next round of chemo so we'll know exactly how well the treatment is working.

So all in all, it was a very positive conversation with my oncologist and I'm filled with a new sense of hope. Sometimes I ask myself if this treatment regimen is worth it, but after my conversation yesterday, I know that it is and I'm still very much rooting for remission in 2011!

2nd round of chemo

I'm officially done with my 2nd round of chemo, which means I'm 1/3 of the way through treatment :) However, it has been one of the most difficult rounds I've ever been through. The reason this round has been so difficult is because my oncologist added Rituxan to my chemo regimen in hopes that it will have a synergistic effect in killing off the cancer cells. My body decided to have a little freak out because of the combination of Rituxan and Bendamustine (the chemo drug).

My aunt took me to treatment on Thursday and everything went very smoothly, but it was a very long day. In total, my drip lasted about 7 hours. I then went home feeling tired, but pretty normal. Around 9 pm, however, I started to get shortness of breath, chills and a fever. By the wee hours of the morning, I had a temp of 101, severe chills, cold sweats and continued shortness of breath. Unfortunately, my doctor's office didn't mention that I could have these side effects from the combo of Rituxan and Bendamustine (Benda for short). Michelle and I were beside ourselves as we had no idea what was happening, why it was happening or how much worse it would get. Thank goodness we were able to reach the oncologist on call and he assured us that it was just a reaction to the drugs and advised against going to the ER. I kept telling myself to keep it together, but to be honest it was one of the scariest nights I've had in a long time. But thankfully my fever and other symptoms broke around 4 or 5 am.

I was still scheduled for another round of Benda the next day, but I was soooo afraid to have more chemo put into my veins in case it would trigger another reaction. But I went to the treatment center despite my fears and my oncology nurse really put my fears at ease. He calmly explained that such reactions can happen from combining Rituxan and Benda and that I would most likely not have the same reaction Friday night. He calmed me down enough to receive the 2nd dose of Benda and Friday night went by with no reactions other than a few hot spots on my body.

Then Saturday arrived and I felt the usual fatigue and queasiness. I started a new anti-nausea drug and it seemed to be working really well. But by the time evening came around I had uncontrollable nausea and was vomiting. The worst part is that once the nausea gets out of control, it's really hard to get it back under control. So Saturday night and into Sunday morning I fought waves of nausea and cold sweats all night.

But thankfully by Sunday I had the nausea back under control and things went back to normal chemo recovery. Unfortunately, Monday rolled around and I had another weird reaction. I woke up and took the dog out to go and it was probably close to a 100 degrees, which my body definitely didn't like. From there my heart started racing and I felt faint and shaky. I tried to hydrate myself, eat a little, but nothing worked. So I did the only thing I could think of and that was to sleep. So I slept the day away, but even after I woke up that evening I still couldn't get rid of the shakiness. Today, however, seems a like a brand NEW day!!! I'm starting to feel like myself again and no weird symptoms or reactions. I still have fatigue, but that's to be expected. But needless to say, this round has a been a tough one. The doctors keep telling me that Rituxan and Benda are generally well tolerated, but unfortunately it doesn't seem like I'm falling into the well tolerated group.

I know I need to speak with my oncologist before the next round to see what can can be done to make my recovery more tolerable. I don't mean to sound like a whiney-hiney, but after all I've been through this round definitely more than any of the others threw me for a loop. Here's to hoping the rest of my treatments are easier . . .

Big hugs to my support group - I couldn't do it without you.

One down Five to go

Finished my first round of chemo. Yeah! It's been a tough week with fatigue and nausea but everyday I grow stronger. I have a doctor's appointment in a week to check my blood counts to make sure I am not becoming too weak and to see if we can add Rituxan to my regime. Thanks for being part of my battle.
Love,
Nessa