Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lab Result Back
Dr. Te is out of the office all this week, but his nurse called and told me my lab results were back. She made it clear that Dr. Te likes to translate all of the lab results himself, but she was able to tell me that the overall look of this test was good! They are able to tell from the blood if the disease will be immediately aggressive. So the benefit of this test is for those who are asymptomatic, but things are moving pretty aggressively through the blood and lymph system. If they have a positive result on this test, they will start treatment immediately. So I was happy she told me that as far as she could tell, the result was negative. She was quick to say that there were parts of the result that she couldn't interpret, so she will have Dr. Te call me next week. But I'm taking that "negative" result as a good thing. I feel good and look at this as time I have bought through many of your prayers. And I'm not sure if he'll know anymore about the time until treatment is likely, but I am just happy for today and every today ahead of me. It hopefully will be many, many, many.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Time to start waiting and watching
11/02/09
My appointment with the oncologist was today. It was nice to sit down and have him answer questions, but of course as I drove away, many more questions came. The most common question I have had people ask is this: If you know you have CLL, why not start treating it right away? Dr. Te said that through clinical studies of CLL patients, it has been proven that immediate treatment does not increase life expectancy. Because of this, why start pumping chemo in and make me sick when I am not feeling sick. So in short, I know I have the disease. But until it starts moving and growing, I can just live life and enjoy it. I'm OK with this. There is one more blood test he took today that may give some insight as to how fast it is progressing. So I'm expecting that result in a few days. He told me symptoms to watch for such as extreme fatigue, night sweats, fever/chills, loss of appetite, weight loss. But if I don't have trouble with any of these, we will continue to wait. My next appointment with him is in 3 months. So during those 3 months, I plan to carry on with life as it is; maybe with better perspective, however. Life is sweet, I plan on enjoying it! Thanks for everyone's concern and love. It makes a difference.
My appointment with the oncologist was today. It was nice to sit down and have him answer questions, but of course as I drove away, many more questions came. The most common question I have had people ask is this: If you know you have CLL, why not start treating it right away? Dr. Te said that through clinical studies of CLL patients, it has been proven that immediate treatment does not increase life expectancy. Because of this, why start pumping chemo in and make me sick when I am not feeling sick. So in short, I know I have the disease. But until it starts moving and growing, I can just live life and enjoy it. I'm OK with this. There is one more blood test he took today that may give some insight as to how fast it is progressing. So I'm expecting that result in a few days. He told me symptoms to watch for such as extreme fatigue, night sweats, fever/chills, loss of appetite, weight loss. But if I don't have trouble with any of these, we will continue to wait. My next appointment with him is in 3 months. So during those 3 months, I plan to carry on with life as it is; maybe with better perspective, however. Life is sweet, I plan on enjoying it! Thanks for everyone's concern and love. It makes a difference.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Diagnosis
As you all know by now, I have been diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). I've heard from lots of people that it would be a good idea to set up a blog and keep people updated and have a place to share things. Don't you love technology? So, I'm learning as I go, bear with me. My technical advisor, Kyle, says he can help with the computer part, but I'm on my own for content. So here I go.
In September 2009, I went to my family doctor for a routine blood test to check my triglycerides which had been high in 2008. So over the past 6 months, I have been exercising, and watching my diet, so I was pretty excited to go have my blood tested and see what changes had come about. When I met with Dr. Callahan, my triglycerides were great. But he had run a CBC too, and the white count was high. He seemed a little concerned, so he ran another CBC. The white count was even higher this time. So he had one more CBC 10 days later, and again it was higher. So he told me he wanted to refer me to a hematologist/oncologist. I was pretty nervous by this time, and had been scouring the internet to try to see what was wrong. I had been a little short of breath lately and had night sweats, but thought it was just from getting older. I was able to get in with Dr. Joseph Te, who I have a lot of confidence in. When I worked on the cancer floor at DRMC, the nurses and patients all loved him. So, Roger and I went to my first appointment on Monday the 26th. He found a few swollen lymph nodes; my neck, my armpit, and my groin. Then he looked at all my labs and told us he was "90 sure" that I had CLL. It was a very shocking moment. It was hard to concentrate much on what he was saying after that. He wanted to confirm his diagnosis with a CT scan and a flow cytometry on my blood. So Tuesday the 27th I had those 2 tests. Drinking two bottles of barium was one of the most unpleasant things I have ever done. It made me sick all day. Wednesday night, Dr. Te called me with the results. He confirmed the diagnosis of CLL and said we would talk more about the staging and treatment on my next appointment, which is tomorrow, the 2nd. So, it has been a week of trying to get a grip on this, and trying to come out of denial. It is totally bizarre to me that I have this and I feel fine. But, I know it was a blessing to have caught this early through a fluke. I have already received so much support and love from friends and family. I am very humbled and appreciative of all of it.
In September 2009, I went to my family doctor for a routine blood test to check my triglycerides which had been high in 2008. So over the past 6 months, I have been exercising, and watching my diet, so I was pretty excited to go have my blood tested and see what changes had come about. When I met with Dr. Callahan, my triglycerides were great. But he had run a CBC too, and the white count was high. He seemed a little concerned, so he ran another CBC. The white count was even higher this time. So he had one more CBC 10 days later, and again it was higher. So he told me he wanted to refer me to a hematologist/oncologist. I was pretty nervous by this time, and had been scouring the internet to try to see what was wrong. I had been a little short of breath lately and had night sweats, but thought it was just from getting older. I was able to get in with Dr. Joseph Te, who I have a lot of confidence in. When I worked on the cancer floor at DRMC, the nurses and patients all loved him. So, Roger and I went to my first appointment on Monday the 26th. He found a few swollen lymph nodes; my neck, my armpit, and my groin. Then he looked at all my labs and told us he was "90 sure" that I had CLL. It was a very shocking moment. It was hard to concentrate much on what he was saying after that. He wanted to confirm his diagnosis with a CT scan and a flow cytometry on my blood. So Tuesday the 27th I had those 2 tests. Drinking two bottles of barium was one of the most unpleasant things I have ever done. It made me sick all day. Wednesday night, Dr. Te called me with the results. He confirmed the diagnosis of CLL and said we would talk more about the staging and treatment on my next appointment, which is tomorrow, the 2nd. So, it has been a week of trying to get a grip on this, and trying to come out of denial. It is totally bizarre to me that I have this and I feel fine. But, I know it was a blessing to have caught this early through a fluke. I have already received so much support and love from friends and family. I am very humbled and appreciative of all of it.
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