I love California!!

I just got home from California yesterday. It was a great trip. My appointment was Friday morning with Dr. Alice Fan at Stanford. She confirmed my diagnosis and also added that because the cancer is in my bone marrow I am a stage 4. But then she said there's either a stage 4-A, or a stage 4-B. Since I'm not feeling really sick at this point and not having serious symptoms then I am at stage 4-A.

She also said that the "wait and watch" approach was developed at Stanford and there has been no proof that starting treatment before necessary prolongs a patients life. So the only reason I would need to start treatment at this point would be if I wanted to, or if the lymphoma started to cause problems with my organs or was affecting my quality of life. She also verified I do have a large tumor (in lymphoma a tumor is an enlarged lymph node) in my abdomen. I also have quite a few all over, but they are still fairly small. So I will start getting CT scan every 3 months here in Grand Junction. And they will send the data from the scans to Dr. Fan at Stanford and she will call me and let me know if it's time to start treatment or not.

Dr. Fan also said if they're concerned with just one or two tumors at a time, then they could give me couple rounds of radiation to shrink them down. She also said I am eligible to start a clinical trial. The trial is for having Rituxin treatments which is the immunotherapy treatments. It shows promise in shrinking the lymph nodes drastically every time you receive treatment. It is still not a cure, but a good way to manage the disease. The only down side for me is to be a part of the clinical trial, I would need to go back to Stanford for the treatment itself. It starts off with 4 rounds of treatment, once a week for 4 weeks. It would be really hard to continuously go back for treatment. I am going to start making some phone calls to see if it's possible to have the treatments in Salt Lake instead of San Francisco because that would be a little easier travel.

Either way, whether I'm part of the clinical trial or not, Dr. Fan said I would be getting Rituxin treatments along with chemotherapy when the time comes for treatments. And Rituxin has shown a lot of great results in achieving remission. Even though once I attain remission it may not be permanent as this cancer will never completely go away unless I have a bone marrow transplant. She said that would be something to think about down the road aways as it's very hard on your body and has a high risk of infection.

So once again, for today, I'm going to watch and wait. But my plan while I'm waiting is to do everything I can to keep my immune system strong. I plan on being proactive with my health, so when the time comes I'm as strong as possible and ready to fight back!

I've been thinking a lot about my life and how everyday I wake up and thank my Heavenly Father for life itself. I have a new appreciation for little things that I maybe took for granted before. I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon, but I'm trying to slow down a little and enjoy things a little more. I find when you're so busy worrying about tomorrow, you miss little things today. I hope during this wonderful time of year, a time of love and giving, you will all join me in praying for those who do not have the love and support I have been shown. I pray that they will be comforted and cared for the way I have been. This trial in my life, hard as it has been, has also been uplifting because of all of the kind words and deeds I have been shown. Happy Holidays! Lots of love, Jen & family