The Cancer Returns

It's been so long since I've written anything substantial here that I almost forget how to do it.

I guess I'll get straight to the point.

It appears that my lymphoma has relapsed, and I am going to have a tougher fight ahead of me than last time.

Shit.

About four weeks ago, I got a bit of a chest-cough, which turned into a cold that eventually subsided. The cough stuck around however, and when I exercised a wheeze began to present itself in my breathing, so after a couple weeks I went to see my family doctor about it. He put me on antibiotics, gave me Alvesco (a corticosteroid inhaler) and sent me for a chest x-ray because of my history with lymphoma.

Unfortunately, the x-ray results came back showing an approximately 8x10 cm mass in the same location as the tumour I had previously dealt with. The news was pretty unexpected for me, because I was coming up to two years in remission and I had been so healthy! Even though I had a 50% chance of relapsing, I guess I just thought that it was over and done with.

I went for blood work twice last week. The first test was normal and the second one, almost a week later, showed declining WBC and Neutrophil counts, as well as an increasing Lactate Dehydrogenase count - all signs that corroborate our worst fears.

After a week of stressing out, Kaitlin and I went to see my Oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency yesterday and he laid out the plan for us.

I will need a CT scan (which I did yesterday) and a PET scan (in Vancouver next week) to confirm that my lymphoma has relapsed, and then starting in two weeks from now I will begin to undergo chemotherapy again. I will likely require 3-4 rounds of chemo, which will last approximately 12 weeks. It will be different drugs than last time, but I think the side effects are essentially the same. Following that, I will require one round of high-dose chemo and a stem cell transplant which is a risky and complicated procedure that will put me in reverse isolation for several weeks - or longer - at Vancouver General Hospital.

Other than this whole thing being an extremely significant emotional burden on Kaitlin and me, it also means that I will be unable to teach for most - or all - of this year. These procedures will completely destroy my immune system, so catching any sort of common colds or flus would be a fast track to the emergency room.

It's hard to let something like that sink in.

We don't really know much more than this right now. Although I need to wait for my CT and PET scan results before everything gets started, as my oncologist said "if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck..." (how is that supposed to end... "it's your lymphoma"...?)

I will write another post when I know more.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

PLEASE NOTE: If you have hired me to DJ your wedding (or other event) next year, I am still planning to do it. If you were thinking about hiring me but haven't yet, please do! I would only advise against booking me if your event is before March, 2015.