My History

I've been wanting to write a blog about my experiences for a while, but never did get around to it.
I've finally decided to sit down and sort it all out, so i'll start at the beginning, and add some blog entries from my diary.
Apologies if some entries are long, and also written in different tenses - it depends when I actually wrote them!

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Good News is always short lived

29th September 2009
The docs brought my CT and PET scans forward, which I had nearly a fortnight ago.
I was supposed to go and see the doctor about the STC (Stem Cell Transplant) last week, but I got a phonecall cancelling it - of course no one would say if it was good or bad news on the phone.
I already had an appointment for today, so off we went this morning....

Unfortunately today's appointment was mainly bad news, not good news.

My PET scan showed up positive cancer cells - which means all my cancer is still 'active'.
The tumours in my chest and neck have shrank - which is good, but they are still active.
The tumour under my arm has grown by 17%.

My cancer has (in simple terms) become 'immune' to the chemo regeime I was having.
The docs have said no more chemo because it's obviously not working - this is because it is a relapse, so the cancer has got used to the drugs.

My transplant (STC) I was going to have has been cancelled.
I will still be having a transplant, but it will be from a donor, and won't be for at least a few months. (They will test my Sister to see if she is a match)

I will be put under a clinical called 'ReACH' (Reduced Intensity Allografting for Chemosensitive Hodgkin Lymphoma).
Unfortunately this hasn't opened yet, so I have to wait for it to open, whch will hopefully be at the end of this year/start of next year.

I have to go back to hospital in a month to see if anything has 'grown'. If it has, and if my cancer contains a particular cell (CD25) then I am hopfully eligable for a type of immunotherapy treatment, called Basiliximab, but I will have to travel to London for it, as the hospitals up here don't do it at the moment.

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