On Monday, Lauren arrived for her appointment at 9:30 a.m. to meet with her doctor prior to receiving the first treatment of chemotherapy (R-CHOP). Her oncologist, Dr. Hawley, showed her before and after pictures of her cat-scans of when she was admitted in to the hospital back in October compared to her most recent cat-scan this past Friday. He was amazed with the difference. The new photos show so much improvement. Her lungs are clear of all fluid and the size of the tumor has shrunk about 70% from using the Rituxan alone. We are very excited, hopeful and positive. During the visit, Dr. Hawley decided last minute that he wanted to admit her to Christ Hospital for her first treatment. A bed opened up around 2 p.m. but she didn't end up receiving chemotherapy until 10 p.m. due to the hospital pharmacy. Prior to the chemo, she was given drugs to reduce nausea so she felt pretty good . She slept through most of the treatment.
In the morning, they scheduled her for an Echocardiogram to check for fluid around her heart. The results are still pending. She also received one blood transfusion to pump up her red blood cell count. She was released to go home on Tuesday at 3 p.m. She has a follow up appointment with the doctor next week. Thank you for all of your endless support, love, and prayers. Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
Lauren starts chemotherapy on Monday. She will be going to an outpatient center near Clifton. She is looking forward to starting this process and getting closer to recovery. Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ed Kelly will be here for the week. We are excited to see them! Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We have a lot to be thankful for!!
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward
This week, Lauren has been resting at our parent's house and getting stronger. She saw the doctor this past Wednesday and he was happy that her LDH numbers have decreased. He is still holding off starting the chemo to give her body time to regroup. While in the hospital, she lost weight and he would like her to "fatten up" before chemo. Mom is making every effort to do just that :-) He drew some blood and based on what he finds, she will either start chemo next week or the following week. As for the second opinion, it is still yet to come. Lauren says "Hi and thank you for all of your love and support!!"
"Greet each day with your eyes open to beauty, your mind open to change, and your heart open to love." by Paula Finn
After eighteen days at Christ Hospital, Lauren is finally home resting at our parents house! She can not say enough about Christ and their wonderful staff! Plans to go home yesterday changed when she was told she had a low white blood cell count. Because she stayed an additional day, they ended up performing a spinal tap. There have been studies that show some transplant patients have contracted lymphoma in their spinal cord. As a preventive measure they ended up taking some spinal fluid and injecting chemo in to her spine. As a result of this procedure, Lauren has a migrane headache. Still, she is glad to be home!
Lauren's biopsy showed markers for Plasmablastic Lymphoma. This is a rare type of Lymphoma and she doesn't have the traditional symptoms of it. The doctor is getting a second opinion from Dr. Lee Nadler at the DANA-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.
This week, Lauren will have off in order to rest and become stronger before she starts her chemo treatments. The week of the 12th, she will return to Christ Hospital for her first round. She will stay over night just to be initially monitored. She will then receive chemo every three weeks for six treatments. Again, this is the plan for now, it can change depending on how she reacts to the chemotherapy.
Thank you so much for all of your sweet, encouraging comments and letters! We all really appreciate them!
"
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Lauren got a port catheter surgically placed in her right chest wall (RCW in the medical world). This port is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. It has a septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times with less dicomfort. This will be best when getting chemo. Tomorrow, she is getting her fourth treatment of Rituxan and was told she will probably go home :-)
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!"
