Linda's Lymphoma update 7-30-11

Great news to report! This is really a wild ride!

The night is always darkest just before dawn. Last weekend things were looking bleak as a CT scan showed enlarging lymph nodes in the abdomen. We started the new chemo Wednesday and she has completed the cycle.

The oncologist needed to do a bone marrow to assess how it was responding to the 3 or 4 courses of the second chemo drugs. The beginning bone marrow had 80% of the cells were lymphoma. After the first chemo course of drugs (6 treatments), the bone marrow was down to 40% lymphoma cells.

A bone marrow was done Monday just showed necrotic (dead) cells. So he did 2 bone marrows on Wednesday - one from each hip. The reports from these today were that they were perfectly normal. No lymphoma was detectable in either! We need less than 5% in the bone marrow to qualify for the bone marrow transplant.

So why are the lymph nodes enlarging if the bone marrow is cleared? The oncologist thinks it is a second clone that has developed resistance to the second chemo series.

Linda is still in hospital as she has a little pain, but her right leg is weak and she cannot stand and get to a bedside commode. It appears that the tumor in the right thigh is compressing the nerves to the thigh and hip muscles as she cannot lift her right leg off the bed. She can move her right foot and toes normally. We are getting MRIs to assess this. A biopsy was done on this tumor and it also appears to be all necrotic as well.

Next week, the oncologist will contact Methodist Hospital about the bone marrow transplant as she is now ready! Hopefully, she will get a little more mobile and be home in a few days.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel finally.

Thanks for all the prayers. THEY ARE WORKING!