For those following my journey with this Lymphoma, I want to say that finally, after almost 3 years, I am finally "cured". Cured in a sense that there are no traces of the disease with my last PET scan.
Since this blog has not been updated since I left Cancer Treatment Centers of America, I'll give you a quick synopsis.
In 2012, I was supposed to have 6 treatments of ABVD, then as we moved forward, it jumped to 8 treatments, then we had to do 12. Nowhere we were told we needed to continue due to the disease being aggressive. We took a vacation after a meeting with the oncologist at CTCA and said all is well, we got to ring the bell, only to find out in November that I have an aggressive type of lymphoma and that it came back. Also, worthy of noticing, when I started treatment, we were told a PET scan will be used along the treatment to make sure all is moving along nice, but I was only given contrast CT scans.
When we asked, we were not really given an explanation. Panic mode ensued, as oncologist said I need to get a stem cell transplant, had to fly to Chicago, then back to Phoenix, etc. It would have been a nightmare. Since our new insurance was accepted at Mayo, we requested to go to the them, much to the surprise of the oncologist, who actually came from Mayo and called someone there to recommend us and to get us in the door with his former boss, Dr. Leis.
Night and day difference between Mayo and CTCA. The CTCA experience, though we were treated nice, they had a low retention rate among staff, and the oncologist was always in the room with a new "case manager" that pretty much was making sure the doc wasn't saying what he wasn't supposed to say...what we felt...and I'm sure others may come across the same feeling if they were there.
Mayo took the bull by the horns, and the new oncologist questioned a few decisions previous oncologist without putting blame. We were a bit baffled, but in the end this is what happened at Mayo, simplified in a few steps:
Nov-Dec 2012 had a new type of chemo, disease still present a bit in the big affected areas (chest and spleen). Towards the end of the year, we started prepping for the stem cell transplant option.
Feb 2013, I was admitted to Mayo to begin the process. Sterile room, chemo to destroy immune system to 0, get my own stem cells back and wait to see if it works. If this didn't work, I'd have to live the rest of my life in a sterile room, without immunity, until a viable donor was found. All worked out well, went for a check up...still had residue in spleen area and chest...tiny spots. Had to have radiation. At this point, I began taking B17, a supplement that many swear it has helped them beat various mild form or cancers without the need of chemotherapy. I wasn't going to try that only. Doctors didn't know what I was talking about, they figured it was a supplement, and took it while undergoing radio.
After the entire radiation was finished, I was informed around my birthday in November 2013, that the cancer is not anywhere present anywhere and that I will have another follow up at 1 year after transplant. As of Feb 2014, same results were showing and I hope it stays the same.
I remain on B17, reduced dose and other herbal remedies, including honey mixed with bee bread, propolis tincture and aloe vera. I am not saying this is key, but I do truly believe it helped towards the end, when it kept showing up.
Sorry for not having the time to continue this, but life started for us again and that's a good thing.
