Six Month Post Treatment Scan.....

Last week Steve had his 6 month CT scan since finishing treatment and after a long week of waiting the results are in and they are FANTASTIC! The radiologist stated that since Steve's scan in July there has been significant improvement in his chest. The tumor has shrunk so much it is not even measurable and he can't even say for sure if it is still a tumor or scar tissue from where the tumor was. Last all signs of disease in his neck have completely resolved.

Overall Steve is doing really well. Steve is back up to his pre-illness weight; he has most of his energy back and only has neck pain when he has been really physical active. All of his blood work came back normal so he doesn't have to go back for another 3 months for blood work and another 6 months now for a CT scan.

Heres to another great 6 months!

Angie

So sorry...RESULTS

Holy cow I just received a call from my girlfriend wondering if everything was okay because I didn't update the blog with Steve's results.  What can I say, I suck and totally spaced it.  Yes we did receive Steve's scan results and everything looks fine.  The Radiologist noted that he can still see the tumor in his chest but it is smaller so we will watch it and compare with a future scan.  So the good news is we don't have to go back to see the Oncologist until the end of October....YEAH!

Life is GREAT!

Thanks for checking in!
Angie

One YEAR!

Time is really a crazy thing. Some days it feels like yesterday that we received the devastating call that Steve had cancer and other days it seems like forever ago. Any how it will be one year tomorrow since Steve was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Looking back we remember that day so clearly and how we were so scared of what lied ahead of us. I have to say it was definitely the most challenging year of our lives but it was also the year that we learned more lessons in life then we could have ever imagined. Probably the three most important things we learned are: don't put off things until tomorrow because who knows if you will have tomorrow; let the small things go because really it could be so much worse; love unconditionally and let those people know how much you care. I know these are more than likely what most people say when they are faced with life threatening challenges or even worse a tragedy. But honestly when I had heard about these events happening to others I would promise myself that I would always completed the three task listed above and after a couple weeks I would take life for granted again...hey it is human nature right? Well I can say now I truly am way more thankful for the life I have been given and I am living a fuller life and creating memories to last a lifetime.

Steve had his scan this week and after 5 hours 24 attempts and 1 exploded vein the CT scan of Steve's chest and abdomen has been completed. We did get the results on the abdomen that everything looks normal and we should have the results of the chest scan on Tuesday when we see the Oncologist. After talking with the Oncologist today I think on future scans we will go to her office first to have the IV started then to the hospital for the scan to be done. The staff in the oncology office has a lot more experience giving IVs to individuals who have been through chemo and have sclerosed veins then the hospital personnel. Final results to come next week...............

The new chapter to our lives has begun and we couldn't be more excited! Steve and I are expecting baby # 3. Yes that is right after fear of never being able to probably have another child or having to go through very extensive fertility treatment we were SHOCKED and very SURPRISE to find out that we are expecting another baby only 4 short months after Steve had finished chemo. So for those of you out there that are scared and hopeless I just want you to know it can happen. It happened for us and we were on fertility drugs with the two boys and miscarried twice and here we are pregnant again with no medical intervention. We are currently 12 weeks and have had 4 ultrasounds and baby is progressing right on schedule. Once we have the 20 week anatomy ultrasound the doctor, Steve and I will be a little more at ease. But until then we are very optimistic that everything will be fantastic.



Thanks for checking in!

Love,

The Waymans

Remission is GREAT!

Steve has now been in remission for 2 months and life is GREAT! On May 11th Steve had a follow up with the Radiation Oncologist and everything went well and she doesn't want to see him again until November. Today Steve had his follow up appointment with the Medical Oncologist and she said everything is looking good and he will see her again in August when he has a CT scan (He will have CT scans every 6 months for 2 years). She stated that they will no longer do PET scans unless the CT scan shows something concerning or he is systematic again. She indicated that PET scans are not used routinely after being treated for Hodgkin's and especially with Steve's history of inaccurate scans they don't want to do one unless they absolutely need to.


How is Steve doing overall? Each day gets better and better. He is slowly getting his energy back and the neck pain isn't as severe as it was last month. Dr. Beck recommended doing physical therapy to try and reduce the pain but of course Steve turned it down and said if it isn't better next month he will consider it.


Last, over the past couple of months I have had a few individuals that have contacted me because they have been diagnosed with cancer or know someone that has been diagnosed and they would like to know how Steve and I made those very crucial decisions when our whole world was spinning and things were coming at us so fast. And since this blog was primary created to help others who would face these same challenges Steve has faced. I have decided I will start putting those questions on here with answers to help those that are frantically looking for people that have been down the same road they are headed down. I definitely know that it helped Steve and I so much too actually read others that have been there and beat this horrible disease. So in the next week or two I will post those questions and answer them for those of you that are looking for strengthen, guidance, reassurance or whatever it maybe to hopefully make it a little less traumatic.

Back to Life!

Today was Steve's last day of radiation and he couldn't be more excited to finally be done. By this time next week most of the side effects from the radiation should be subsiding. Overall Steve did really well through radiation. The first two weeks he didn't have any side effects then the last week and a half he started to have discomfort in his throat, heartburn, and tender skin (like having a sunburn) and the fatigue was starting to set in. During this past month I kept thinking I needed to update the blog but really there wasn't much to update and life has been busy and FUN so I decided to wait until he was through.
Since Steve's surgery in February he has been out of work because he wasn't released to return until four weeks post-surgery then he started radiation. Also these past twelve days his sister and her kids came to visit over spring break and we had a great time hang out with them. I have to say I LOVE having him home all day with me! He is going back part time this week and next week and I am sad.
Next on the agenda:
*May 11- he will have a follow up appointment with the radiation oncologist.
*June 6- he will have another follow up appointment with his medical oncologist and probably another PET scan
*June 30- Celebration- stay tuned for further details!
*October 13- Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society-further details to come

Now back to enjoying:

New trailer and yes we have already been camping this year and LOVED IT!



And especially these two little stinkers....LOVE THEM!

Next up......

Radiation! Steve’s case has been taken to the tumor board meeting with his two oncologist and surgeon and the decision has been made that Steve will receive 18 rounds of radiation. Radiation will be every weekday starting this Thursday until April 9th. Yesterday Steve was mapped for radiation and they let me come back and watch and WOW it is quite the process. First you are in a large room with a huge CT scan and they have him lay on the table that moves through the CT scan. Next they make a neck and face mold of him then they use it to secure his head to the table so he can’t move. After that they tie his feet together so he doesn’t accidently move them during the procedure (like trying to cross at the ankles). Then there are lasers coming out of the wall and they use them and the CT image to make tattoos on his body so each time he comes into radiation they line him up in the exact spot to ensure they are only radiating the areas he had lymphoma.

Steve and I are still shocked at the results that we still find ourselves questioning it. It’s not that we aren’t excited and so ready to move on but how do you go from hearing that it is spreading and growing to we could not detect any cancer in the biopsies. Since we have found out the results we have met with both oncologist and the surgeon and to be honest they all are a little surprised with the results also. One of the oncologists even said after she read the biopsy she called the surgeon to make sure it was correct then even checked it the next day again to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake. So with them being surprised we have asked them several times could there be a mistake. And the answer we have received is yes that the PET scans are not perfect and that is why there is a range and anything above a 3 or 4 they usually suspect it is malignancy and with Steve’s metabolic uptake being a 4.6 it was concerning but just as they stated everyone’s body is different and the 3 and 4 range are just guidelines but not hard steady results. Then we asked what are the chances that Steve will relapse after receiving radiation and she stated that after receiving ABVD chemo and having a good response (which the biopsy confirmed it to be good) and then receiving 18 rounds of chemo and based on his original diagnoses and stage (IIB) he was at he has a 10-15 percent chances of relapse. Really what we want to hear is you are cured and you will never have to deal with this again. But hearing he only has a 10-15 percent chance of relapse is good and we are super excited to be almost done and ready to move on. Another good sign is the surgeon has signed be off and Steve no longer has to follow up with him and we don’t have to see the medical oncologist for another 3 months. YEAH!

Last I want to personally thank the Ward family and Jamie Horton. Barbara Ward has sent our family a card every week that Steve has had treatment to wish us well and to let us know she was thinking of us. Barbara has sent such fun cards even that included stickers for the boys and they have loved receiving these cards. Then Barbara’s daughter Mary Ann Ward is a marathon coach for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and she is currently training Jamie Horton who sent us a very inspiration email. Because of what Mary Ann and Jamie do they are helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help find more efficient ways to treat and cure blood cancers. Check out their websites: http://www.teamintraining.org/ and http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/vancouvr12/jhorton9ql

Thank you everyone again for all you support we really have some amazing family members and friends!

Here’s to 5 years of remission then CURED!

Angie W

Thanks for the prayers....they have been answered!

After a very long week we finally have the biopsy results and they are GREAT! The surgeon called us tonight at seven and stated that the biopsy of the tumor, lymph node and cyst are all benign - NO CANCER and no residual Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. So between Steve's willingness to fight and chemotherapy they have kicked this cancer's A$$! Yes that is right...just ten days ago we were devastated thinking that the cancer had spread into his vertebrae and was progressing even while he was receiving chemotherapy and now it has been confirmed there is NO CANCER! So can you get a false positive on a PET scan...YES! Here are a few situations that can cause you to have a false positive: infection, inflammation and any areas where you have had past disease. While Steve was in the hospital he was diagnosed with a staph infection that was pretty strong and he and a 15 cm tumor that started in his chest so this could be exactly why he had a false positive not to mention he was supposed to lay low 24 hours prior to the PET scan and he worked manual labor instead. Regardless of what ever caused the false positive the doctors have gotten to the bottom of it and we FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel. Next on the agenda we will meet with the oncologist Tuesday to determine if he will still need to receive 3 weeks of radiation.

Now how to celebrate?

Much love to all!
Steve, Angie and the boys!

Home and recovering!

Yeah, Steve is home from the hospital and recovering just fine. Friday Steve was admitted to the hospital to have a biopsy performed on the tumor that has made its home on Steve's mediastinum. Little does this tumor know that after we receive the biopsy results that it will be evicted ASAP either by additional chemotherapy and radiation or surgery to remove it. The surgeon stated that while he was in there he would have loved to just cut the whole thing out but that would require cracking open Steve's chest cavity to get it and if this is still Lymphoma that won't do him a lot of good because he will still require additional chemotherapy and radiation. Second while he was in there doing the biopsy on the mass he also noticed a cyst on Steve's pericardium so he removed it-nothing serious just a congenital abnormality that could cause questioning on his CT scans. While in the hospital Steve did have to spend one night in ICU as a precaution because he had to have a chest tube placed because the surgeon had to go through the pleural cavity and because Steve has been on Bleomycin (one of the chemotherapy drugs) for that past 6 months which is hard on the lungs. All in all everything went pretty smooth with only a minor infection and Steve was able to come home in 2 1/2 days instead of 4.

So glad that is over.....3 hour surgery felt like days. I thought I was going to have a heart attack waiting. And 2 1/2 days in the hospital to Steve felt like an eternity. So glad to be HOME!

Thanks everyone! We couldn't get through this without all of our friends and family support. I wish I could thank every single one of you personally.

Thank you, thank you........

Steve, Angie and the boys!

MRI results and surgery...

Finally a little bit of good news. Today we meet with the Thoracic Surgeon and he had received the results from the MRI which clarified that there are actually NO abnormalities with Steve's T6 vertebrae. (Sigh of relief) Next we need to have a biopsy performed on the tumor in his chest still to make sure we are still dealing with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and nothing more. Most of you probably have the same questions we had so here are some answers....

Did Steve not have Hodgkin’s? Yes Steve has/had Hodgkin’s

So why do we need to biopsy if we know he has Hodgkin’s? More than likely this is still Hodgkin’s but there is a small chance Steve could have developed another condition or has had another condition on top of Hodgkin’s. Although that is rare it can happen and before we pump more chemotherapy drugs and radiation into him we need to know exactly what is going on and what we are dealing with.

Why is this being questioned that it might not be Hodgkin’s? Back in October when Steve had his 2nd PET scan it was clean - no cancer. Then in December at his 3rd PET scan before radiation there was an increase in metabolic activity and Steve was symptomatic again so he started treatment again. Then even though Steve has been receiving chemotherapy the cancer has increased. So we need to determine if his body is just no longer responding to ABVD chemotherapy and switch to a different chemotherapy treatment or most importantly if it is something other than Hodgkin’s the doctors address it and cure him. We definitely don't want to pump any unnecessary drugs into him!

So tomorrow (Friday) Steve will be admitted into IMC to have the biopsy completed. Since this tumor is in his chest very close to his heart and lungs it will be a pretty invasive procedure so he will be in the hospital for approx. 4 days. I will try to update the blog each night on how he is doing. Then we should have the biopsy sometime middle to end of next week.

Thanks for all the prayers, kind words and offers to assist with the kids we greatly appreciate it.

Angie

Not the news we wanted..........

This post is going to be brief just to update everyone on the results from the PET and CT scans. First the tumor in Steve's chest has reduced in size but the cancer has progressed in his chest from a 2.8 to 4.6 metabolic activity. Last he now has activity on the T6 vertebrae. His oncologist isn't sure if the lymphoma (cancer) has spread or if there is something else going on. So until we get a definite answer we cannot proceed with further treatment. After his appointment today they sent him straight to the hospital for a MRI of his thoracic vertebrae then tomorrow we will see the Thoracic Surgeon for a consultation. Once we have the results I will update but it probably won't be until next week.

FYI-Yes Disneyland was a blast and we had a great time with the boys. Even better Steve felt pretty good most of the time.



Angie

Goodbye Chemo……FOREVER!

I think it is safe to say that the last two weeks of my husband life have SUCKED! His last round of treatment was hands down the worst. He had mouth sores, horrible arm pain, jaw pain, neck pain and an ear ache. That night when we got home from treatment he went straight to bed and that was where he stayed for the next four days; only to get out every couple of hours to take a shower to help relieve the pain. Then days 5-8 the pain in his arm was so bad he was up most nights unable to sleep. The pain got so bad at one point when he fell asleep he had a dream someone was cutting his arm. I woke up several nights to him in the shower, sitting on the couch in the dark or to him waking me up asking me to please rub his arm….it was horrible! Finally he said he couldn’t take it anymore so I took him in to the doctor and they checked him over to make sure he didn’t have a blood clot or anything else that was alarming. She concluded it was probably just the drugs in is IV that probably was causing the pain in his veins since they are so sclerosed. She gave him some pain meds and told us that if it wasn’t getting better in the next 24-48 hours or if it started to swell call her. On the way home Steve said, “I guess I’m not as tuff as I thought I was.” He really doesn’t give himself credit for what he has been through. I have tried to tell him that it isn’t like he has just been sick for a week or two this has been going on for over 6 months! Finally on Sunday Steve said that he was feeling better. Well at least it was in time for his treatment today but I just hope 2 days was enough to recuperate for another round. Well there is good news from today’s visit…his blood work was actually in the normal range. Normally Steve’s white count stays just below 2 and they really want it above two but since Steve has done fairly well they have only given him the neuprogen injection once when it dropped below 1. Today it was at 3.2 which surprised us since Steve felt so bad this time we thought it was probably really low. Bad news though he still has to have the neuprogen injection tomorrow. Why? Well we are leaving on vacation probably at the same time that his white count will be at its lowest point from this treatment and since we are flying and going to Disneyland where he will be exposed to more illnesses and diseases we could ever imagine we rather be safe than sorry. No room in our vacation agenda for a hospital visit!
Come February 15th the bell will ring! At Steve’s oncology office they have a bell mounted to the wall outside of the chemotherapy room that you get to ring to celebrate your last treatment. On November 16th Steve rang that bell in celebration for completing his 4 months of chemo. Little did we know less than a month later we would be back here for 2 additional months of treatment. So come today at the end of his additional two months Steve stated, “I am not going to ring the bell. But come February 15th when I get the results I will ring that bell off the wall!” This is not because Steve and I fear that his cancer isn’t gone but we have decided to take it day by day and proceed with faith and caution.
Here is to…
1. An EASY round for my husband
2. A GREAT, RELAXING vacation with the family
3. And most importantly a CLEAN scan on the 14th!

Much love!
The Waymans

Alive and……Well?

Yes we are alive and MOST days WELL. Since I last posted Steve has had two more treatments one on the 27th of December and today. Treatments these days are a little rough due to Steve’s veins being sclerosed from his chemo treatments. After his last treatment he felt pretty well as long as he stayed on his anti-nausea meds, if he doesn’t take them well it is a different story. Other than that he felt pretty good. Today’s treatment went a little better it only took 2 times to get an IV started compared to 4 at the previous treatment. His blood work was borderline again today but he was able to continue treatment and even skip the neupogen injection.

Thanks for everyone’s love and support. We received several calls, emails and text checking in on us over the past two weeks since I didn’t update after Steve’s last treatment. I ensure you all we are hanging in there but just felt we needed to take a break to clear our heads and emotions from this whole ordeal. As most of you know we were shocked and scared to be back in chemo then to top it off he had a very hard time with his infusion on the 27th. During that treatment it took 4 times to get his IV in and the burning in his arm was horrible. After treatment Steve was physically drained and I was emotionally drained from watching him go through the whole process that I didn’t have the energy or desire to come home and blog about it.

Next on the agenda we have his last treatment on the 24th of January then the 14th of February another PET scan and CT then appointment with results hopefully on the 16th (this one could change). Please send all the good thoughts and prayers for a CLEAN scan on the 14th.

Last, we hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had a fantastic Christmas with our families and especially with our boys. Steve and I are definitely excited to move on to 2012 since 2011 wasn’t the year we had planned for.

Here is to a HEALTHY and Fabulous 2012!
Angie