Chemo #2 (1/3 of the way)

Michelle and I went in at 8:30 am to the IMC Huntsman Cancer Center. We were able to get our same private room that we had last time. It took a while to get started as they were trying to figure out my anti-nausea medicines. They finally reached Dr. Lagant and she gave them the go ahead for another med. We started with the Rituxan again as it takes 4 1/2 hours to run that one. I can't remember the other drugs but there are a total of 5.

The day before chemo, we met with my oncologist, we received very good news. Anectdotally, the night sweats are gone, the cough is gone and the fatigue is getting better. From the blood count perspective, she was very pleased. She said my red blood counts were very good. The white blood counts were 6100 which is well above the danger zone (she usually doesn't get worried unless they are in the 2700 -3000 range. She also gave me new survivor rates for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (Large B Cell). For someone my age in Stage 2, I have a 81% chance of being cancer free in the next 5 years. If she counts my spleen like a lymph node, that rate goes up to 91%. The good news is that this study includes everyone from 40 - 60 years old and since I'm on the young end of that spectrum, my outlook is even better. I've known that we were going to beat this from day one but it is nice to hear such good news.

These past few week have given me hope that it isn't going to be as hard as I thought! I'm sure that a lot of that comes from the prayers and blessings that we have received. I've definitely felt the Lord's hand in this trial. We are so blessed!