Chazzkin's Lymphoma

This is Charles. Had a PET scan on Thursday which I was a bit worried about since my LDH had been spiking.  PET scan showed zero lymphoma in my axillary (armpit), supraclavicular (collarbone), or mediastinal (belly) lymph nodes.  My LDH is coming down but still much higher than normal.  My red blood cells and hemoglobin are still well in the anemic range so I remain pretty tired and "sedentary". Next appointment with my oncologist is December 1.  The PET did note an "increased uptake" in one of my adrenal glands and my oncologist said she doesn't know "what to make of it" and will probably order an MRI.  My googling suggests that this is a benign incidental finding. I'm thinking one or two more posts after we put that adrenal issue to rest, but I do not have any lymphoma that shows up on PET. Helloooooo eyebrows. Thanks for all of your cards and texts and calls and concern and especially Masses and prayers.  I benefitted tremendously from this care...

Hi all, Charles is definitely ready for this to be the last treatment. Just coming to the infusion center makes him feel gross. He has a little over 1 hour left for today's treatment. We were just discussing with the nurse that we don't feel like we can celebrate until after the PET in a few weeks, but he did have Oreos as a snack today. Below is a pic of the "red devil" of chemo.

Hi all, Charles had his blood work done and an appointment with the oncologist yesterday in preparation for today's treatment. Blood work looks ok, I guess. He has low hemoglobin and red blood cell counts. This explains his general lack of energy. Hard to function when your cells are not getting enough oxygen. On a good note, his white blood cells are within range, yay. His LDH is high and has been getting higher each treatment cycle since September. The oncologist doesn't really have an explanation for this. A quick google tells you that high LDH is an indicator of tissue damage in the body. They can do a further test to see if it is a specific tissue type, such as heart tissue, liver tissue, lung tissue, or lymphoma. We are not sure what to think about this, but it is concerning. The oncologist was going to schedule the final PET scan for 8 weeks from today, but after seeing the LDH is higher after this cycle, she suggested he have it done mid-November. Right now he's in ...

Hi all, Charles had treatment #5 yesterday. Blood counts were better than they were before the last treatment, but apparently still borderline. Over the last week or so he has been fighting a minor respiratory infection, so I was glad to see that his neutrophils were not too low for treatment. He will get a "shot" that stimulates the growth of neutrophils later today.  The other option was to wait a week for the chemo treatment to allow his body to fight the infection. Charles did not want to delay treatment and asked if there were other options. This shot will be administered by a device called Onpro, which was placed on his arm yesterday. Pretty cool technology that will deliver the medicine 27hrs after the chemo.  He had a little bit of nausea last night since he forgot to take the anti-nausea meds before he went to bed, but once he took it everything was fine. He is not looking forward to being on the Prednisone through Wednesday. Please keep him in your prayers. Tracy

Hi all, Charles received treatment #4 yesterday. His absolute neutrophils count (white blood cells that are the first line of defense for the immune system) was a bit low, but the doctor approved the treatment. He may need an extra shot with the next treatment to spur his bone marrow to produce more neutrophils. He felt a "little woozy" during the treatment, but for the most part is doing well.  We had our first class for 2nd year confirmation this morning and he was able to teach, so he is doing well. I ask that you continue to pray for him, especially this week as he endures prednisone over the next 4 days. Tracy

Hi all, Charles had an appointment with the oncologist this afternoon. She confirmed the PET scan results looked good and the treatment is working. We questioned whether Charles needed the additional treatments and she said the regimen is 6 treatments. The mid-treatment PET is to determine if adjustments to the treatment are needed. There are no data to show that the additional treatments are NOT needed. If Charles felt strongly about discontinuing treatment she was open to the discussion, but Charles said, "I feel strongly about following the data." Therefore 3 treatments are in order, starting tomorrow. All is good and it will be a few more months before he can start regrowing his hair. Tracy

Charles had his mid-treatment PET Scan today to see if the treatment is working or if they need to adjust. The radiology report came back within a few hours and it looks like the treatment is working just fine. The summary from the radiologist: "IMPRESSION: 1. Specific evidence for metabolically active neoplasm is not present. 2. Compared with prior PET/CT dated 6/8/2023, previously identified focal abnormal accumulations involving right subpectoral node and 2 right lower quadrant ileocolic lymph nodes are no longer appreciated." We have an appointment with the oncologist on Friday afternoon and we have a few questions for her, but feeling good about this news! Thank you all for your prayers! They are working!