Monday, February 28, 2011

Back to work

Well, I am still doing good, had my first full day back to work and all went well.  Noticed that it seemed close up things were fuzzy, but seemed to go away as the day went on.  Don't know, maybe cause I have cut out a lot of caffeine out of my system, but all seems okay and still going strong.  The day definitely went by fast.  I have been off pain pills for two days and tonight appears to be a third, thats a huge thing, I just hope the shoulder pain stays away :)

Moving along full steam ahead!
iBelieve!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Treatment 1 complete, doing great!

So I had my shot of Neulasta today, which is a drug that helps your body make more of its own natural white blood cells to help protect you against chemotherapy-related infection, which could put things on hold.  So far, I have not seen any side effects at all, so today has been a great day.  I got out a bit for lunch with a good friend, and then met two other friends to chit chat.  This first treatment has gone so well, I hope that all the energy I have to kick this keeps things the same way for the next two treatments.  I have zero pains or sickness, and have been doing very good.  It's been great to spend a little time catching up editing some photo projects that have been put on hold because of the pain in my right shoulder.  I will be cruising through to the 23rd of March hopefully with all good reports.  Thanks again for everyone's support/prayers.

:) Rob

iBelieve

Friday, February 25, 2011

Treatment #1c

So today was the final bag for my first treatment, leaving only the shot tomorrow morning.  It has been quite an easy couple days.  I have to say not getting stuck in the hand or arm has been quite nice.  The needle going into the port is just a minor stick, and pretty quick.  I chose to do a new needle each day instead of leaving it in for 3 days, mostly because I don't want to bump it when I roll around at night by accident, plus I cannot get it wet.  But we'll see how it goes next time.  So today, got my bag finished and asked a little about some of the meds to make sure I am taking them as needed, and then I was done.  I was a little tired today since last night I was up a lot, mostly going to the bathroom.  But just laid down to get a little nap.  All the additional IV fluids plus me drinking more water, have kept the trips to the bathroom quite active let me tell you.  But as of right now, I haven't really felt any issues due to the first treatments, and am glad to be resting and taking it easy.  I think that helps more than anything.  My shoulder pain has gone away which is allowing me to get a few projects worked on and seem like I might be back to normal.  We'll see if it comes back in a week or so like it usually did.

So for now, I have nothing to report.  No sickness from the first treatment, no use of the meds standing by, just relaxing, taking it easy, and having tons of support to keep me motivated.  The next couple weeks will be harder on me than I think, because I have to be careful who I am around as far as sickness and things go.  Gotta wash my hands a lot, carry the hand sanitizer, all that stuff to stay healthy has my immune system catches back up.  So, we'll see how that works, and hopefully going back to work will keep my mind busy so time passes quickly to get to the next round of treatment.  Which is Mar 23rd, 24th, and 25th.    I may post a few posts as I go, but it will be smooth sailing I hope till the next treatment.

Signing off with a big smile for this week!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Treatment #1b

So today was a very short day, only took about an hour to get the fludara in me.  This one did not give me any feeling yesterday and the same happened today.  Didn't feel anything.   I don't know if I felt nausea or just hunger for lunch today, but all is going well.  So just being productive and making sure something doesn't happen, plus staying away from others that might be sick.  Gonna be doing that a lot the next two weeks.  The nurse told me today that with the shot I have to get on Saturday to boost my bone marrow activity, I might not crash as bad.  Still gotta see what happens.  But doing good for now.  Quite happy.  And I am still motivated to get this done!

I have said it several times, but the support/prayers from friends and family has been a huge boost to my motivation and energy, I can't thank you enough!  For now, I'm just taking it easy.

iBelieve!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Treatment #1a

Wow, I don't know what to say about my experience today.  It was long, but only 6 hours long.  I guess they factor in possible complications and wags of time that could take longer.  Basically I feel fine.  Maybe a little tired.


The day started with some nausea and antibiotic iv drugs.  The first bag of chemo was fludarabine (Fludara), which was a clear solution and went in without any feeling.  I will say the stick to connect to the port was very easy, and I like it better than the iv's in the hand.

















Second bag, which I call Mr. Smurf, was the Mitoxantrone (Novantrone) and it's a dark blue.  I will add a photo of that one.  This to went in very fast and I did not see any after affects of the blue solution, yet. :)
















 Angie, this does not mean I bleed blue now.  But that made me laugh!















The last bag which was Rituximab (Rituxan) and was the hardest.  I didn't take another photo of that, it was clear.  I felt my scalp tingle and itch a little, but that was a possible side effect to watch for.  Nothing to be concerned over.   I did notice a bump on my head, that seemed to get bigger as the meds went in.  It's gone now, so I am going to be watching that one.  They increased the drip like every 20 minutes, and I did feel my chest get a little tight, but all in all, it wasn't bad.  4pm and I went home.  That was fast.

I feel pretty full, due to drinking water and all the fluids going in me.  I am feeling a little tired right now. But not really any pain.  I have a little ways to go but so far, all is good.  Now what happens as time goes forward I don't know.  But I truly feel really good.  And yes I drove home as I felt fine.

When I explained my chemo the other day I was not clear.  My treatments consist of an 8 hour day like today, then two one hour days.   So the first day is approx 8 hours, then the next two are only 1 hour.  So each treatment is 3 days total.  So my first day of treatment 1 went very well.  Probably gonna take  a nap and relax, but feel really good.  :)

Thanks for all the texts and comments today during my long day, it kept me busy.  Today, my buddy Chris brought me lunch, and had a great visit.  My dad came by after work to visit till the end of the day. What a fun day.

iBelieve!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Port or Starboard?

So today I got the port put in.  Took about an hour, and I was out, so I don't remember much of anything.  Had an absolutely hilarious team of techs for my install, and that made it go that much easier.  So now I have this little mouse looking thing inside my body, that will make it easier to get me my treatment, so now comes the fun part.  Of course, no showers to the insertion area, but at least I can bathe so I feel like I haven't been on Survivor.  Gotta get over a little discomfort from today's surgery, but all is well.

So that leaves me with one wake-up till chemo starts.  The wait has seemed to take forever, but truly I don't know where this month has gone.  But tomorrow begins my days of healing, and I am very excited for that.  I have no idea what to expect, but I think I have enough planned to occupy my time.  Now I don't know if installing the Angry Birds app on my iPad was a good or bad thing, but it will surely keep me on my toes during treatment.  So that is it, ready or not, here I come!

iBelieve

While this isn't the greatest of photos, this gives you and idea of the bump I now have from my port going in.  Chemo is from 9:30-5:30, so expect a later post tomorrow :)  My Dad pointed out I had an incorrectly oriented photo, so now I show the port on my right side, which is where it is inserted.


Friday, February 18, 2011

I have made my decision

iBelieve2011

So today was the second most important doctors appointment for me.  In the past 3 weeks I have done more tests than I care to, but it has all built on how I made my decision today.  As you know, picking the right doctor is a hard choice.  You do your fact finding, weigh the good and the bad, and decide what is best for you.  This has not been easy, and well I can't have every BEST doctor there is to cure me.  So today, it was clear to me, and I chose to steer my boat full steam ahead.  I knew that if it was time, we would schedule chemo, and get the port installed.  Unfortunately, they couldn't work me in today to do the port install, so my chemo won't start on Monday, but Wednesday.  Yep, that was quick.  But really, why wait.  An awesome doctor passed on information to me to help me be ready for that, in that MY kind of lymphoma is rarely mis-diagnosed the first time.  I also know that it is time to dive in.  For the last 3 days, I have not slept well, have had concern with new pains I thought I was feeling, and well, more and more concern for my shoulder.  While I had medication to help with the pain, it just had a constant nagging pain, and it has made me loose enough sleep.  So lets get to the reason I jumped in full steam.

Today's news has some new items to pay attention to, and will explain why I was extra ready to kick some butt.  Let's start with the PET scan.  This, as many know, is the scan that shows the spots that matter when it comes to how well the chemo is working to wipe out the bad cells.  My right shoulder lit up the charts, imagine that.  From the previous scan's, it was called a hot spot.  My oncologist shared with me that it stood out on the PET scan again, he told me that it was about a 20 on the scale.  So I asked what the low end of the scale was, maybe normal, and well, he said a 2.  Yeah that didn't surprise me, nor was he surprised when I talked about the pain.  I guess I did not do my job to make sure he understood my pain was bad at night last Friday, because the meds I have don't help.  He said he would fix that.  Next up was the lower right side abdomen.  Some new spots showed up and he asked if I had any pain.  Funny thing is, that was one area I wanted to tell him about and he already knew it.  Maybe the other scans did not pick up what a PET scan does, maybe they are new.   But I had questionable pain in that area and well, I was a little concerned, but he beat me to the punch on that one.  Okay, lastly, the left shoulder showed a little activity on the PET scan.  He asked if I had any pain there, and again, that was on my list to discuss with him, and he already knew it.  Now, the left shoulder is in the bone marrow just like the right.  Hopefully that doesn't get bad, but it added to my decision to jump right in.  It's time to start killing the bad cells and getting on the road to recovery.  It only takes one aggressive lymphocyte to go on a rampage, and I don't want that.  I brought up the recent fever and night sweats, even though I knew that was just part of the body fighting all this bad junk, and he confirmed that it was nothing to be alarmed about, and well, it's gonna be common until we kick this lympho's butt.  I got to meet my oncologist's right hand woman, his nurse, and I can tell she keeps him on his toes.  She was on top of everything he said, and had stuff ready to go for me, so I feel pretty good about that team, and decided it was time to stick with him, and that was my decision.  With the added news this time, I think it is time to get started and if I need to re-evaluate, I can always do that.

Okay, so they wanted to get my port installed today, but the schedule was full, so chemo cannot start on Monday.  Tuesday morning I will get my port installed, and Wednesday is my first treatment of chemo.  Wednesday will be a full 8 hours due to the need to administer the drug slowly.  For those who want to know my cocktail, it is a combination of Rituximab (Rituxan), Mitoxantrone (Novantrone), and Fludarabine (Fludara).  There are many things with each drug that has side effects, and won't go into those but the Mitoxantrone is a blue color and it can cause urine, sweat, saliva, and the whites of my eyes to be discolored.  So no reason to be concerned if I have some blue eyes, at least they aren't pink.  :)  That was a joke.  But, I guess I may look a different way, but some of those side effects are normal.

I dropped of 7 prescriptions today at the pharmacy.  Finally I got me some good meds to kill this pain.  But all the others tie into the chemo so I can't wait to get them started next week.  :)

Okay, so thats about that.  I am excited to get this journey started, and without all the wonderful support I don't think I could have made it this far.  Wednesday could be an interesting new beginning, but it is a necessary step.  I will say I am not scared with an honest face.  Your prayers are always the best thing I could ask for.  But as I start chemo, please remember that my immune system will be wacked, and I can easily pick up something that could be trouble for me.   So if you have or been around someone that is ill, they recommended you stay a little further away to help me.  If I am wearing a mask, it's only to help me be out and about but also help protect my system.  I will try to blog a lot, so that time passes fast but also I can give you an idea my ups and downs.  If I am sleeping, I won't have the phone ringer on.  So please don't freak out if I don't answer.  Text messages will be a lot easier for me, so just understand I might not be in the mood to talk.  Don't be afraid to come visit me, but also don't be offended if I am just not up to it.  Hopefully this will be short lived and I won't really need visitors.   Don't be offended if I ask you if you have been around sick ones, or if I wash my hands a lot.  These are things recommended for me to keep healthy, just want you to understand as well.  I might do the Howie fist bump a lot :)

Okay, so thats a wrap.  I am still EXTREMELY MOTIVATED to kick this slight inconvenience's butt. Keep up with my journey here.  If you wish to email me privately, I have created a temporary email account and you can email me there.  I will also answer from that email through this journey.  So if you add @insightbb.com to the first words at the top of this post, you will know that address.  Remember, I don't want auto spammers to just get the full email by trolling the web.  If you don't get it, let me know, and I will find a way to call or write you :)

Thanks for ALL of the support.  And iBelieve!!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Squishy Squishy Squishy

Today was the 2-D echo which was of the heart. It was pretty neat I have to admit. Seeing the valves open and close was interesting. Then she turned on the sound. A lot of squishy going on. First time for everything!!

So last night I took the night off, but I didn't know I was gonna run a 101 temp. So about 1:30 in the morning I found that the pool of sweat made me feel better but definitely made sleeping hard. :) I got some sleep but definitely not enough.

Tonight is my last chance to gather my thoughts before seeing my oncologist tomorrow at 10:30. I do know one thing for sure, and that is that I am about tired of this shoulder pain. :)  It will all work out very soon!

I have such a huge support group I can't thank you enough for the prayers and selfless offerings. I am ready to begin the kick butt stage of this journey.

iBelieve!!!!!!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A day to ponder

So today, while busy at work, I needed to take a breather from all the hub bub to just hang out.  Watch some tv and clear my head.  A much needed degaussing.  After all, Survivor started tonight. :)

Tomorrow, 2-d echo then the much awaited oncologist appointment on Friday.  Fire in the hole!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The simplest of tests can test your resistance to pain

So today was my first PET scan.  Since I did not know anything about them, I was a bit surprised.  So it said no eating 4 hours before.  Since I was on driving arrest for 24 hours from my bone marrow biopsy, I slept in and was ready to leave for work at 10am.  So I ate some turkey to give me a little boost to 2:15pm. So I get to work, and oh guess what, there are all kinds of goodies.  Brownies, cookies, pretzel kiss things. And I can't eat them till after my 2:15 appointment.  That was hard.  So I get there at 2pm, sign in all the paperwork things, and wait.  I get called back and find out that they have to inject something in me to get me ready for the PET, and oh yeah, I have to sit for one hour to let it work it's way in my system.  Tell a hungry man to wait an hour, then have a 20 minute procedure.  So I sit and watch The Talk and had a good time waiting.  I get called back and oh yeah, love the techs :)  I lay down on the board, and she tells me that I have to raise my arms above my head.   UUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!  The worst position I could be in.  While it didn't seem to bad, I get sucked through the donut looking machine, and as I go through I see a radiation symbol and these lines.  Yeah, don't know what they meant.  :)  I try to lay still, and then I get pulled out, the lasers did not line up right, so she set them back up and in I go again.  This time all goes well and they start slowly going through the scans.  Now remember that pain I talked about.  Yeah, as the 20 minutes ticked down, the pain increased on my shoulder.  The cushion I was laying my head on was pushing on a tender spot in my shoulder and I began to hate the pain it was causing.  While the test was not that hard, having the headrest pushing into my shoulder made it so tough to get through.  When I got pulled out and told I could relax my arms, I slowly moved them as it was painful.  I told her I hope I was still enough for the scan, and all she asked was if it was my first.  So next time, if there is any pain, I know I will try to lay a little different, but I made it through.

So tonight, the pain is not any less, so I took some good meds and hopefully I will be able to sleep.  Wednesday is a free day, no appointments, but I am still gathering information on doctors, care, and the best solution for me.  That is tiring.  But I am thankful for friends and extended friends that have helped me determine the best route for me during this inconvenience.

Regardless of the pain, and all the decision making, I am still ready to jump in and wipe this out before it gets the best of me.  All the support gives me strength to stay motivated and be ready to beat this.  So I still have a clear head, and am strong.  And iBelieve!!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Into the marrow we go

I can now say that I have had a bone marrow biopsy.  And you know what, it ain't nuttin.  So far today I have not even felt a thing.  Maybe they used an extra small needle.  Either way, the procedure went off with zero problems.  I thought that they would take it out of one of the sides, but no, I was face down and they went in on the left side part of the back, technically still the hip.  The most pain came from having the right arm stretched above my head.  The pain has been back the last few days, mostly at night.  So, hopefully I can make it to Friday and see what's next.  All I felt today was a little pressure as they pushed on me to get the needle in my bone, and I mean it barely hurt.  One down, two to go.

Okay so here is the funny part.  Any of you Grey's Anatomy fans that saw the episode where Bailey was tweeting from the OR, and how much the Chief hated it.  So the lady that came to get me, which I don't know whether she was a tech or nurse, saw me texting and we got talking about Grey's Anatomy and tweeting.  So I said I wanted to tweet during the biopsy.  Well, I had a fun doctor today and my lady friend who got me to the CT room told him that I was gonna tweet during the procedure.  He got a kick out of that, so as I got wired up to the monitors and they prepped the needles and such, he went in the other room to do what he has to do to get the machine ready.  So my lady friend goes back there, and she comes to the door way and tells me that we will have to delay the procedure as the doctor was tweeting.  What a fun way to have an experience that you don't know how it will feel, and laugh a little along the way.  I can't tell you how enjoyable that was, and having people work on you that can laugh a little is a great thing.  So I had to share that.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Information Information Information

Okay so today, I continued to receive helpful information in my decision making process on what to do now that I have confirmed I have cancer.  Picking the right doctor is a very very hard task.  Digesting all the information has been an interesting challenge.  Gotta weigh the good with the bad and hopefully the right decision is made in the end.   I have 5 days to get to that point.  :)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The day after

So what's it like the day after you find out you have cancer?  CRAZY!  The good thing, is having this blog will allow anyone to follow along if they so choose to.  And I don't have to say the same thing a gazillion times in a row :)  It's not that bad, but you know what I mean.  So all the information gathering has begun, considering options, googling tests so you know what they are, and reaching out to those you know can give you information that will help in your decision process.  Never have I felt so ready so soon.  So while it's a bit to digest, it has been the most relaxing in nearly 2 months.

So, appointments on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and lastly a visit with the oncologist on Friday.  By then, specifics should be crystal clear, and I can continue on my path to beat this slight inconvenience. :)

The most common question I have had is "Are you OK?"  My answer is, I am GREAT!  I mean that whole heartedly. :)

Friday, February 11, 2011

It's time to kick some butt

Today, I met my oncologist to get the news of the biopsy from the mass in my stomach.  I have cancer.  But it's a good cancer to get.  I have Stage IV NON-hodgkin's Lymphoma.  For those that do not know, the different stages have to do with multiple locations of the lymphoma.  For me, the pain is in my right shoulder.  I have several masses in my stomach.  I have a couple in the left armpit.  So when you have locations in both areas, it is Stage IV, it doesn't mean it is worse from I to IV.  There are many things left to decide, but next week I have a bone marrow biopsy, I am sure that is gonna hurt, in the hip area, I also have a 2-D echo, which I had to google, and it says it is like a test in which ultrasound equipment is used to examine the heart.  It says it is capable of displaying a cross-sectional "slice of the beating heart, including chambers, valves, and the major blood vessels that exit from the left and right ventricle.  Doesn't sound so hard.  And then I have my first PET scan.  Google says that is Positron Emission Tomography.  Yeah I don't know, but it is a part of Nuclear Medicine imaging.  It states it measures important body functions, such as blood flow, oxygen use, and sugar (glucose) metabolism, to evaluate how well organs and tissues are functioning.  I am sure I will understand this at a later date :)  And Friday, February 18th, I discuss where we go with my oncologist.

I mentioned a second opinion.  I have interest in the work at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.  Go Cards.  So over the next couple days I have lots to digest, research, and decide on, but the one thing that is crystal clear to me is that I will beat this.  Feel free to following me on this journey on this blog to see how well I beat this.

iBelieve is more than just a word, I Believe I will beat this.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

One more day

So I didn't sleep that well, the pain in my right shoulder hurt no matter which way I laid.  I did my best and had to get some ibuprofen about 4am.  Go figure, when I woke up, the pain subsided.  Why can't it let me sleep at night.  But that's how it seems to happen.

Oh the anticipation of getting the results to the mystery of what is going on inside of my body.  You never really know what reaction you will have, and you don't know what the news will be until it is given.  So tonight, after a bit of thought, I am relatively calm.  The day is almost here.  Will I be told I have cancer?  Very soon I will know.  But I am ready to hear the results.

An old song stated one step up and two steps back.  Tomorrow, I take one step back and two steps forward!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Biopsy

Today, February 9, 2011, was my biopsy of the mass in my stomach, and I have never been through one of these.  So I get there at 6:30am, check in, and at 7am, I get led back to my room.  Here comes the fancy socks and the gown, you know the one that if you are not careful you flash the butt-crack.  :)  I get the iv, all the prep work, and at 8am I get wheeled back for the CT guided procedure.  The same tech that did the initial CT scans was there, man those gals are great at what they do.  Get moved to the ct table, and I get hooked up to all sorts of gadgets.  The radiologist explained all the particulars to the biopsy and I signed on the line, and the groggy meds begin to roll.  Got numbed up, and they took a prep scan to line up the mass.  Looking at the monitor, it looked big, but I can't read a ct scan, so who knows.  They put the template on there, and in goes the guide needle.  Very interesting to watch.  They took 4 biopsy's and it was all over, probably 30 minutes.  I give both tech's and the radiologist 2 thumbs up, they made it very easy for me.

Back in my room, two hours of laying flat.  Man that was hard.  I got to sit up and eat after that, and the radiologist came in to look at the area, give me my orders, and asked if I had any questions.  Nope, it all rest and recooperate.  About an hour to go, my sister-in-law came to get me, my ride for the day, and we waited out the last hour till I got discharged, 1pm.

Being home all day, it has been an easy day till about 7pm, I felt a little hot.  Took my temp and it was 100.3, and if I get to 101 I have to call the doctor.  So far it has been up to 100.4 but is down to 99.9 now, so I think it is gonna be okay.  No pain or discomfort, what more could I ask.

Unfortunately, today the pain in my shoulder is flairing up, and I hope it doesn't get as bad as the last time.  We'll see.

Friday I get my results, and I am very excited to know which path I will be dealt.  So many have shared their prayers and support for me I cannot express it.  I am fortunate to know them.

The journey begins

It all started in November 2010 when my right shoulder started to pop a little when moved.  I had planned on getting it looked at in 2011.  On a trip to Bowling Green for work, in late November 2010, I noticed a pain in my shoulder that didn't feel to good as I tried to drive.  I made it back, but started looking for an Orthopedic doctor to get it looked at.

On December 9, 2010, I saw an orthopedic doctor to have my right shoulder looked at.  Got a few x-rays of the shoulder, and found out that the doctor wanted to go straight for the MRI.  So the wait begins.

On December 20, 2010, I had an MRI on my right shoulder.  After the first set of images, they pulled me out and said they saw what looked like a snap in the shoulder area and wanted to look to see if I left something on.  There was no snap.  About 45 minutes later, I was done.  Longest set of images took 16 minutes.

On December 23, 2010 at 9:30am, my Orthopedic doctor called to give me the MRI results.  This was the day my family picked to do our Christmas.  He stated that the MRI showed a lesion on the humeral head in the right shoulder and a possible tumor.  A second lesion was possibly there as well but not clearly seen.  My doctor said there I should not worry about cancer as there are more tests needed, and it was outside of his specialty.  He was referring me to a doctor that specializes in shoulder tumors and oncology.  I can't tell you how shocked this news was for me, and unsure what was going on.  I was told that the office would call to schedule an appointment for me.  Here comes the wait, my next appointment is January 20, 2011.  Nice.

Due to whatever is going on in my shoulder, each weekend there was extreme pain throbbing in my right shoulder and nothing was helping, so I called the doctor for some drugs.  500Mg Hydrocodone, you would think that would do it.  Not!

I toughed it out barely to January 20th, but I called numerous times to try and get in early, but it didn't happen.  So my first visit went well with the new specialist, he didn't agree with the MRI results and felt that it was inflammation in the bicep and could be treated with meds and physical therapy.  He did want to test for worst case due to the MRI report, so he scheduled blood work, a full body scan (nuclear medicine) and a CT Scan with Contrast of the abdomen, pelvis, and chest.  Appointment for the x-rays was scheduled for January 26th, thats only a week later, was very excited.  Follow-up for results was February 3rd.  Blood work was drawn before I left the hospital.

So January 26, 2011 came fast, and I checked in to Norton's Brownsboro for the x-rays.  Got the nuclear injection and drank the special lemonade concoction which was not bad.  Had an awesome experience from the techs who did the cat scans and full body scans.  Time to wait a little more.

February 3, 2011, not a peep from the doctor.  I figure, no news is good news.  So I get to the office and sit in the holding room.   45 minutes and still no doctor.  Alas he comes in.  He has someone with him, maybe an intern, and sat down asking how I was.  By this point, I am anxious.  Do I have a tumor, is it cancerous, what did the tumor marker test indicate.  The doctor did not have the blood results so he left to get them and came back.  He didn't really tell me much on the blood results, other than it looked a little anemic and some counts were off.  He said the right shoulder showed a "hot spot" but didn't really see a tumor nor did he see the humeral  head breaking down due to the lesions.  Okay so now I am really confused.  What he did concentrate on was that there were a couple masses in my stomach area in the lymph nodes, and the largest was 8cm's.  He said it could be Lymphoma, but he needs to send me to another specialist to diagnose.  He feels that the right shoulder "hot spot" is connected to the stomach lymph nodes, and maybe we will need to do some radiation on the shoulder to deaden the pain, but he wants me to see another specialist to proceed further.  He gave me the option to have my primary care doctor refer me, or he knew two specialists he recommended, and I wanted his referral at this point.   He said he was on text basis with both, and would try to get me in as soon as he could.  So, he ordered a biopsy of the mass, and that is scheduled on February 9, 2011.  However, due to the preferred specialist and being a new patient, I got a follow up appointment on February 22, 2011, are you kidding me?  :)

Okay so on February 8th, good news came to me and my doctor worked some magic through texting and I am going in for results of the biopsy on February 11, 2011.  I can't believe it!!!

I decided to summarize what has happened so far in a single post and build this blog on my journey to fix my shoulder pain and whatever mass is in my stomach.  I don't know if it is cancer yet, but it could be.  Either way, I am on the way to recovery for whatever is causing the pain in my shoulder, and wanted to share it with those that have supported me with prayers and support so far.