Cycle 4

Well this treatment was the beginning of cycle 4.  He has had 7 treatments so far ( 2 treatments equal 1 cycle).  He is going to have 6-8 cycles ( 12-16 treatments) depending on the next PET scan.  We had a heart to heart with Dr M. on Wednesday... we just needed him to explain why he was satisfied with the last CT scan as there really has been no change since the beginning of chemo.  (Dustin and I are in contact with a wonderful site, lymphoma.com...it is a "support group" for lymphoma patients and their care givers...many patients have clear scans at this point in their treatment)  Dr. M explained there was no progression of the cooties so that was a good sign, he would have liked more of a decrease in his lymph nodes but he would take no progression.  He said he was going to get  a PET scan around the 6 cycle mark.  He did offer to get another CT scan now but, after we discussed this option with him, it would not change the treatment plan. We would still need to get a PET at 6 cycles, so there is no need to expose Dust to more radiation than needed.  

He told us if the PET came back "no evidence of disease" or normal, he would probably recommend some radiation of the chest as that is where the largest lymph nodes are.

Me being the person I am,  asked him if the PET came back with a slight decrease or progression  of disease what would be the plan.... he siged and said I was trying to pin him down to an answer (uh yea), but he would still probably look at radiation but without looking at the PET he couldn't answer my question.

We were still satisfied with his explanations (actully Dustins exact words were "He blew enough smoke up my a** to keep me happy for now")....I understand he cannot tell us exactly what is going to happen and what the plan is going to be. I understand medicine is a science and not exact blah...blah..blah, I've heard that for years! I just hate being on this side of the table!!! And I'm not even the one with cooties!!!  Being a nurse is not an advantage in this situation, really all it is doing is making me question how I treated patients for the last 15 years!  I held many hands and cried with many patients but I wish I could do it all over again, I would hold their hand longer and maybe cry a little longer, because this really sucks!!!

Anyway........This treatment has gone well so far, he has not been too nauseous, he is just really tired.  Our hotel this time was by the airport, or in the parking lot of the airport!  When we where walking from the truck to check in a plane flew over us and I think I saw the pilot wave at me!!  Dustin almost fell to the ground, I think he thought they were coming to get him....lol  I was afraid if that was going to happen all night it was going to be a very long night, but I guess Tulsa airport is not that busy, we didn't hear another plane until the morning. 

After we checked in we went to the restaurant in the hotel to get something to eat, it was supposed to open at 4, it was now 415, I asked the waitress if they were open and she said they were "looking" for the chef.  Now everything in me said run, but I was already told the closest restaurant was McDonald's and Taco Bell (no way he could eat that) and they were 5 miles away.  We are getting pretty good about getting around in Tulsa, but this is one area we haven't been to.  The waitress came back to us and said "OK, come on in" (mind you she did not say they found the chef!).  So we went in and ordered.  While were waiting for our food, she came back and said "I'm only charging you half because the hotel manager and human resources manager are cooking your food, but don't worry I told them what to put in it"!  OMG, really!!  Again, we should have left then, but being the sporting people we are (not) we stayed and had one of the worst meals we had ever had!!  Oh, well...live and learn.

:-)  Delana