And so it starts

I was in for my annual "peek and poke" exam when my gynecologist didn't like the way my uterus felt.  She ordered an ultrasound and wrote "Fibroids" on the paperwork.  Not too concerned because I've had them before, I didn't rush to schedule the test.  After a business trip and some other "important stuff"--I found time in my schedule and went for the exam.  While on the exam table, the technician (a really nice RIT grad) asked me if I was in any pain.  I felt fine and said no--nothing was bothering me.  Continuing the scan, she asked again--are you sure you're not in pain?  By her third inquiry, I was getting concerned.  She told me she wasn't sure what it was--but something wasn't right.  She went to get my doctor, who was conveniently in the office suite next door.  When she came in and looked at the screen, she announced she didn't know what she was seeing, but didn't like what it was.  And scheduled me for a CT scan the next day.

It's so ironic that this was happening when I'm actually feeling better than I've felt in YEARS! I'm physically strong and feel great.  I started swimming last summer, then cranked it up a notch in the fall by working out with a great trainer, Joe Delgado, twice a week with additional cardio time.  I work daily work on my OA program, appreciate the blessing of abstinence and my eating plan, and have dropped 50 lbs.

When the doctor called me Friday night with the CT scan result, she told me of my enlarged lymph nodes--suspicious of lymphoma.  She  also told me to cancel my Sunday travel plan to attend a conference in Washington DC--big bummer because I was really looking forward to it-- a Hillel meeting focused on Higher Education and creating a more civil society.   She wanted me to get a biopsy as quickly as possible.

With the diagnosis pending, I started on the information-seeking super highway and in quick couple of weeks have gotten a crash course in Lymphoma.  

Needle and knife biopsies led to a definitive diagosis--Diffuse Non-Hodgkin's Large B-Cell.  An aggressive form of the disease, which is actually a good thing.  That means that the cells divide quickly and are very responsive to treatment.  Slow growing cancer is --well, slow growing, but is also more resistant to the chemotherapy drugs.  I'm still waiting on other test results to determine the staging-that will let me know how pervasive the cancer is and where it is in my body.

The time between the first test and the biopsy results has been pretty unnerving.  Right after I got the news I was driving and my vanity mirror was flipped down.  I looked in the mirror and had a heart-to-heart with my God.  Probably because of my work over the last year and a half in Overeaters Anonymous, I said--"Okay, God!  I'm turning this over to you and I'm in for the ride." Clipped to my visor is a little card my OA sponsor gave me some time ago.  It says:  "Do your best.  God will do the rest."  That's my plan. 

I am blessed with incredibly supportive family and friends.  During this initial phase, they have helped me sort through the medical maze and ride the emotional roller coaster.   With their guidance I selected an oncologist, Dr. Jonathan Friedberg, at the Wilmot Cancer Center at Strong Memorial Hospital.  When my housemate, Julie, and I met with him we both got a really good feeling that I was in the right place.  His nurse, Lynn Rich, is a neighbor--someone who lives around the block, but I'd never met.  She seems great and everyone on their team was very nice and super competent.  

I start chemotherapy next week.  I am very optimistic.  One of the first things Dr. Friedberg said was "this is curable."  I've begun the journey towards that cure and know that having your support will definitely help me kick this cancer to the curb!