So I have not updated my blog in quite a long time, in part because my health has been better and in part because I don't like coming back to this page and remembering the tough times that I went through. But it was this page and everyones words of encouragement that got me through everything. And unfortunately I am back on here because I am need of that support once again.
Over the last few months I have been undergoing chemotherapy again here in Hawaii (Navelbine and Gemzar). While the drugs are much weaker than any of the others in the past, my body has been having problems recovering from each treatment. My white and red blood counts and my plattlete counts have all been affected to the point that I ended up in the ER twice and have had to have blood and plattlete transfusions. Because of this Dr. Liu decided to stop my treatment early and go ahead and give me a PET/CT scan to see if the drugs have been working on killing the cancer cells. Following the scans I was told that the cancer was almost gone except for one spot remaining on my left 4th rib. After speaking with Dr. Reeder at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Liu decided to restart the chemotherapy but this time only giving me one drug (Navelbine). I have undergone one treatment of this so far and have another three to go before they go ahead and schedule another PET/CT. Hopefully after this round of treatment the cancer will be gone and I will be considered in remission.
While this is something that I have been working towards it also means that I will have to undergo another bone marrow transplant which I am not looking forward to to say the least. The first transplant was hard enough on my body but to go through another one and this time have to infuse the bone marrow of a stranger will make it all that much harder. The stay in the hospital will be much longer and because of the chance of graft v. host disease (my body rejects the donor marrow) I will be under much closer watch by my doctors to make sure that I do not develop any major side effects in the first three months following the transplant. But what worries me the most are the potential for long term side effects that could include liver and lung disease and skin sensitivity. So while they are possibly curing me of Hodgkins Disease, I may now have another major disease to deal with not to mention the possibility of another type of cancer developing due to all of the chemicals that they have pumped into my body.
So now I have to make the tough decision of undergoing the second bone marrow transplant or taking the chance that the cancer will stay in remission after this last dose of chemotherapy. While I know my doctors believe that the transplant is the best option I am not quite sure how much more of this I can take. I already have a ton of side effects that I deal with daily and then to add on a heap more I am not sure I want to do that. I am hoping that with a complete change in diet and way of life I can maybe keep the cancer at bay without having more chemicals pumped into me. In the end I will have to talk it over with my family and doctors and come to the best conclusion but as I write this I am fearing the transplant and everything that comes along with it. I would rather live out a shortened life and enjoy myself than live a longer one that includes endless limitations and health issues...
