Testin, testing, 123....

My Oncologist is Dr Shane Cullis, he really is such a warm and comforting person and he calms me down the minute I sit down in his office. I was referred to him by the Specialist that first discovered the Hodgkins and I truly am beyond grateful to have him looking after me!

 

I have all of my treatments done at Hopelands Cancer Centre in Pietermaritzburg even though I live in Durban, the PMB branch have the most fantastic team and every time I walk in I feel comfortable and so cared for. Everyone greets you by name despite having over 800 patients currently receiving treatment!

My first appointment was absolutely awful. I don't think the fact that I had cancer had really sunk in until that afternoon. Shane started off by explaining the disease and the high cure rate, which comforted me. but the side effects and risks where terrifying and I found myself in tears the whole way through the appointment. I was given SO many booklets and pages to go home and read, I felt completely overwhelmed! All I could think about was how I would cope with work and my routine..

At this stage it all still seemed so unreal and unbelievable to me. I felt like I was having a nightmare and couldn't wake up. Life can change so drastically in just one day. I realised that I had to try and come to terms with the fact that this was my reality for now and that I have to get through it and continue forward with the future that I had always envisioned for myself. I think that it is so unfair for anybody to ever have to go through this, but I have made a promise to myself to try and remain as strong as I can.

Shane explained that I would be receiving ABVD chemotherapy which would be administered intravenously once every two weeks, this would occur 12 times. Unfortunately I needed to undergo further tests to determine how far my cancer had spread before I could start my chemo- this is known as "staging". This process is different for each person but basically involves a lot of very invasive tests, the results are then analysed and the Doctors are able to assess how widespread the disease is. I obviously had a biopsy which tested positive for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I then had LOTS of blood tests, a PET scan and the dreaded Bone marrow biopsy.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan

A PET scan is similar to an MRI in many ways and basically shows a very clear image of the inside of your body and how well the tissues are working. Two days before the PET scan you are put on a special diet which is basically no carbs or sugar and maximum protein, you also have to drink close on four litres of water per day. The day of the scan you arrive at the lab, get dressed in a beautiful hospital gown and are sent to lie down in a TINY, freezing cold room. You are then injected with a very small amount of a radioactive drug, into your arm and have to hold very still. Every 20 minutes for an hour and a bit, you are given a glass of clear liquid to drink (it tastes horrendous- a cross between old water and metal). This liquid is a form of dye and highlights all of the metabolically active sites in your body and because cancer is highly metabolic- the cancer areas light up like fireworks on the scans. After you have finished the liquid you are hauled off to another room and you get yourself into position on the scanner, arms up and elbows to ears! The scan takes about 40 minutes to complete and you have to remain DEAD still to get accurate results. It is SO cold in that room and I generally get told to stop shivering over the speaker by the technician. I also always come out with deep, purple coloured lips! So far I have had 4 PET scans and the results have shown a drastic decrease in the size of the cancerous area. I will try and post pictures of the scan when I get them back from Shane.

 

 

Pet Scan

Please don’t read this next part if you are even remotely squimish...

Bone Marrow Biopsy

When I was first diagnosed, Shane strongly suggested that I do no reading on the internet as it is difficult to pull out the facts buried in the fiction. I mostly listened to him but sometimes my curiousity got the better of me and I found myself reading article after article. I don’t think any amount of reading could have prepared me for the bone marrow biopsy- I completely underestimated how truly horrific it would be. I arrived at the lab for my appointment with my support crew in tow (Mom, Dad and Gav) and was given a Dormicum to suck on by a nurse (Dormicum is supposed to put you in a state of sleep). After 20 minutes I still didn’t feel any different but the doctor wanted to get started so I was told to lie on my side with my back to them. The Doctor then injected local anaesthetic into the area around the back of my hip, a few stings and it was numb… or so I thought. My Mom was in the room with me and I was gripping onto her hand, she was a nurse so the medical side of things don’t worry her at all. The Doctor took another needle and injected the local even further down into my hip, he then took a long device (similar to what a meat thermometer looks like) and stuck it deep into my hip bone and I felt the most horrific pain and excruciating pressure. It felt like he was screwing a cork out of a wine bottle and the Nurse was pushing my legs down to hold me still. Finally it eased up and the needle was out, the Doctor then went into a spin and finally told me that he was so sorry but he had cut the marrow sample too short and he would need to go in again to get another sample... Devastated was an understatement.

So that day I had not one biopsy but two. 

The second time around was just as bad as the first and I never, ever want to go through that again. The Doctor told me that childbirth would be a dream for me one day after what I’d been through- I’m holding him to it.

http://cancerlabtechperspective.blogspot.com/2011/12/blood-disorder-paroxysmal-nocturnal.html

This a is good diagram showing the bone marrow biopsy procedure

My Dad and Gav were out busy buying a drill while this was going on… how ironic.

 

 

Half the battle won is having a positive attitude. I can't tell you how proud I feel when people tell me how well I deal with having cancer and how optimistic, smiley and happy I seem. Sure, I have my bad days and teary moments but I am SO grateful to be ALIVE! I have a chance to survive and to thrive and I couldn't be happier. I have so many plans for my future and I choose to focus my energy on healing and not on thinking negatively.

 

 xxx