An Unwelcome Visitor

On January 2, 2000 I awoke to discover a small lump on the left
side of my neck. I quickly made an appointment with my in-
ternist. I had to wait several days for that appointment
because I had promised to chaperone my grandson Daniel
at Allstate Chorus in Tampa. By the time we arrived in
Tampa that small lump had grown to big that it was solid
from under my ear down to my shoulder.

We returned on Sunday, and Monday I saw the doctor. She
gave me antibiotics for a week. At the end of that week
there was only a slightly larger mass. No shrinkage at all.
It was not an infection

The next step was to have anaspirated biopsy of a lymph
node on the left shoulder. Then I had to wait for the results
which were not conclusive. Two days later I had a biopsy of
a lymph node on that same shoulder. I waited yet another
week for the results of that

For about three weeks I waited for an answer, dreading
and looking forward to the answer to the question:
Is it Cancer? The doctor began to give me little pep
talks saying , "If it is lymphoma, that is one of the best
cancers to have. It is so very treatable now!"

When I returned to the surgeon's office, he did say it
was lymphoma, large celled folicular lymphoma--the
worst kind. I went home in a fog. The people
in the doctor's office did not know an oncologist--it was
like they hadn't had a cancer patient there before.

They called and made me an appointment with
a cancer specialist they didn't even know. When
my daughter heard the news, she put out the news.
A couple of her friends had survived Non Hodgkins
Lymphoma, and she wanted me to go to their doctor.
By this time I was numb and, like a lamb, I let her
make the arrangements for me to see Dr. David
Smith at Hematology and Oncologist Associates.

I'm happy to say that was a very good choice. In
the next 18 months he had saved my live numerous
times. I had eleven months treatment with a rather
friendly cancer drug called Fluderabine.

The routine was that I had a treatment every
day for 5 days and then had 3 weeks to recover.
My white counts and red counts zoomed down to
almost zero each month, but I managed to stay
out of the hospital during the time I was taking
the first medicine. I also did not lose my hair.
I would look around and see all the bald people
and be so thankful I had my hair.

Every 3 or 4 months I would have a cat scan or a pet
scan or both. When my tumors began to grow again,
Dr. Smith said we would have to treat the cancer more
aggressively. By this time I knew that I had the
worst kind of lymphoma and that usually patients did
not usually survive past six years from their diagnosis.

We began another week of treatments and three weeks
to sort of recover. Well, I don't think recover was the right
word for me. That first month of the more aggressive treat-
ments, I managed to stay well enough to avoid the hospital.

Here's how the instructions were: "If you have even one
degree of fever, call the office once, day or night." What
I did not realize at the time is that when the white count
is down to almost zero and the red count is also down to nearly
zero, my body could not fight any kind of infection and if it
stayed that low, I wouldn't get that low grade fever. I didnot
have fever at all. I did, however, contract pneumonia, had a
staph infection in my blood and many other things. By the
time I finally did call, I always have to go to the hospital.
In fact in one 90 day period, I spent 45 of those days in
the hospital fighting for my life.

In fact I was supposed to have five of those week long treat-
ments, but at the end of four, Dr. Smith said, "I guess you
I'm not going to give you the last treatment I'm afraid I
cannot save you again."

I replied, "Thank God! I didn't think I could survive it,
either.

During that four month period I had numerous shots of
nupergin for my white count and at least 8 pints of blood
for my red count. When my counts would get low, I
would faint. I fainted a couple of times in the shower.
I fainted in the doctor's office, I fainted many times,
many places.

I think I'll stop for tonight. Please tune in for the next phase
of my my miraculous journey.