Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Battle Continues


It's been over a year now since we first started the testing routine again, and found out that Tex's lymphoma had returned.

Shortly after 4th of July he had started chemo up again.  It's been a year.  A really, really long year. Too many blood draws, and tests, and scans, and port being accessed, and hospitalizations. Battles with reactions to bug bites, and months of bronchitis and pneumonia, and reactions to medications....

In my purse, I have the CD of the latest CT scan.

... and can't do anything about getting the results until he goes back to MD Anderson on Monday.

He's gone through 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy which stopped working about half way through. And now 6 months of trial immunotherapies; which has shown improvement on the last scan 3 months ago.

 So now we're back to waiting.  His treatment routine changes up after this infusion on the 29th, He won't have another infusion until September. So we'll really get to see if the daily pills are working, or if the infusion is doing all the work.

One thing we found out, which was not explained to us at the start, this is a life long medication to keep the cancer cells in check.  The only way he would stop taking this, is if they do decide to do the stem cell transplant.  Which is still on the table, once he reaches remission.

There's a billion scenarios running through my head.  .... when he reaches remission.  Maybe he has.  He feels better for the most part.  There's still days, sometimes several in a row, that he stays down.  He's still anemic, we know that much from the blood work.  What if he hasn't?  Has this treatment stopped working too? What do we do then? I know there are more trial options...what if his insurance starts saying no....

And then, once I've worked myself into a tizzy with all the what ifs.... and now whats..... I remember.  Just for now.  Just for right now, this is where we are.  We've battled a year and if we have to, we'll battle another year.  And another, and as many as it takes to kick this cancer's ass.






 
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