Thanks to Aviva

My sister-in-law, Aviva, has set up this blog so I can share with you the details and process of my diagnosis and treatment. Thank you, Aviva! By clicking in the "Follow" area to the right, I gather you can then be notified of when I post a new entry. You may also leave comments for me or other commentators for others to see. Of course, you may also e-mail me directly if you have a private message.

Past entries are available by scrolling down or by clicking on the month button. It should be pretty self-explanatory. I included as the first entry the letter I sent to some family and confidants when I first got the news.

Today's news: Almost from the moment I sent out a message about the lymphoma diagnosis last week, saying that I felt fine, I developed a fever and started feeling sick. Turns out I just picked up a virus that is unrelated to the lymphoma. Nevertheless, when the oncologist saw me on Friday, he decided to postpone the bone marrow biopsy by a week or until I feel better. A viral infection could throw off the results of such a procedure.

I thought I was getting better over the weekend, but I didn't heed my own usual advice, and as soon as a little energy returned, I was out doing activities with the kids. And the fever came back Sunday night. With some concern I contacted doctors about the endoscopy and the endoscopic ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday. There was some disagreement on postponing the procedure, but I decided to go forward.

It's now Tuesday, around 3 PM. My viral symptoms are much less as I spent all of Monday in bed, draining a couple large bottles of Gatorade. I had the endoscopic procedures at UCLA this morning to map the tumor and get a clearer view with the ultrasound. They went well. Biopsies have been sent off to pathology, and my oncologist knows personally the head of pathology at UCLA. So my samples will get judged by the top brass. Preliminary news is good. The lymphoma is right where they thought it was - and nowhere else. It is relatively superficial, not penetrating deeply into the tissue. The doctor was very encouraged by the result. He also checked again for the H.pylori bacterium, because the presence of that infection agent would indicate an easier treatment plan.

Next up will be swallowing a capsule camera to image my lower intestine, where some unclear "activity" was noticed on the PET/CT scans. I do the bone marrow biopsy erev Rosh Hashanah.

Finally, I just want to say I am so grateful for all the outpourings of good wishes and offerings of support. I look forward to seeing all of you when I can and talking about anything - except health. I'm thinking of instituting a movie night where some friends can join me for an evening of whatever good comedy film has been released recently.