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