As of today I have 13 follicles ripened and ready for the picking! They plan to take the eggs on Saturday morning and we should know how many embryos we will have by Monday. The whole thing is still kind of strange to me..the idea of making frozen babies. But hey, there is a lot that has gone on this year that seems strange to me. Regardless of all of that, this experience has been quite an amazing one. First of all, it has bought us time to really do the due diligence needed to feel good about our decisions going forward.
Secondly, it has allowed me to meet the most wonderful group of medical professionals that I have come in contact with yet. The crew at Reproductive Biology Associates is amazing. Everyone there from my doctor to the nurses to the ultrasound ladies to the billing specialists are nothing but heart. I am blown away by this and visiting them everyday these past two weeks has become something I look forward to. It is like walking into an office full of smiles, encouragement and love each morning. I have had to talk to the nurse on the phone so many times I can't even count and she never got irritated with me!
And finally, it has shown me yet again how much Michael loves me. I was ready to hang up my hat and get started with treatment several times, and it was he that encouraged me to keep going as he knew this was something that we needed to do to make these next months more bearable. He is steadfast in his love and support for me and I tear up every time I think of how good I have it. (although it was like looking at a deer in headlights when I told him yesterday that we had 13 follicles developing! haha, I could tell the poor boy had flashes of Cheaper by the Dozen movies running through his head). P.S. 13 follicles developing doesn't mean that many eggs. They hope to get 6 or 7 out of these to use for embryos.
Okay, so that is the egg story.
The rest of the story....
Well, we are in a holding pattern. These two months have sent us on a crazy journey of discovery. I mentioned in a previous post that my biopsy results came back with putting me in the worst category of Hodgkins patients based on the CD68 + cells. Initially we thought this was a good thing to know so as to avoid stem cell transplant. We were going to go to MD Anderson because they offer alternatives and clinical trials. Which they do. BUT, only for people who have relapsed after high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. BOMB number...how many is this by now? I am amazed at how receptive these high-up doctors are to answering my e-mails. The ones at MD Anderson basically said stem cell is the best thing for me to do.
And this is after I heard from two other doctors as much.
So....
Where we are sitting right now: I have been doing high-dose Vitamin C IVs now, 5 per week, for several weeks. I have been taking 5-6 grams of curcumin a day, 2 grams of resveratrol, low-dose naltrexone, and hyperbaric chamber among some other smaller things. I feel like we are giving the alternative medicine the good ole college try. And I truly hope that the cancer is gone when we go to look for it on Monday. Or at least shrunk..or even not grown at all. This would be really really really good news.
But, I am being a truthful optimist, as dad would say. I am preparing myself for the result that I don't want to hear. And if we do hear that, I have found a peace with accepting high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. I know this was what we were set off to do from the beginning, but it feels really different now. Like I am deciding not from a place of fear, but a place of knowledge and understanding.
So, we wait. I liked Patty Bralley's post today. We are waiting. Good or bad, it will be nice to know what is next.
The schedule:
Saturday, egg retrieval
Monday, PET scan
Wednesday, lymphnode biopsy (just to make sure we know what we are dealing with!)
And then...our path will unfold.
You say Hodgkins,is that non-Hodgkins Lymphoma? That should prove I am not a doctor.
ReplyDeleteI am a metastatic colon cancer patient. 15 months since DX and still feeling fine with no symptoms, no chemo.
Due to unusual circumstances I started taking a no FDA approved drug, DCA, and I think it is working very well for me and may for you.
I have notice stories of people doing well with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma who are/were using DCA.
Read up on it if you will at thedcasite.com
Do a search for hodgkins and DCA and look at the PDF three down.
This is a real drug that really works for many. It is being tested in a phase one trial at the University of Alberta and research is being done at MIT for example. They are coming up with a combo of cisplatin and DCA.
Good Luck
Robmx, this is a very interesting post. Thank you so much for writing to me. We are looking into this right now and it is seeming like a real possiblity! Good luck to you too.
ReplyDeleteEve