Day 141....Ramp up those prayers

Thursday, February 7, 2013

I am not implying by the title that anyone has forgotten about us or is not continuing their prayers for us.....but we got a bit of, shall I say, concerning news yesterday.....so we are just asking that you continue to keep us in your thoughts and send us all that powerful energy that has gotten us through so much already.

Dillon had a PET scan yesterday.  This scan is used to show any metabolic activity within cells throughout the whole body; it can show infection, cancer, and a variety of other anomalies.  Dillon's last scan was completely normal in November (remember he had a swollen neck while in the hospital and it turned out to be nothing more than a fluid accumulation that cleared on its own).

Well, the scan yesterday showed some activity in the lymph nodes in his cervical area (near the collar bone).  Yes, that is where his original lymph node involvement was.  The doctors are cautiously concerned because of Dillon's history (the fast growth of tumor during the first course of chemo and because of the location).  There are some reasonable explanations for this test result.....with the most likely being that he is fighting something (bacterial or viral) and these are the nodes that have chosen to activate in an attempt at an immune response.  We all get swollen lymph nodes (you know that sore neck/jawline area you feel when you are in the midst of getting a cold).  He has had some blood work done, which won't be back until early next week, to see if there is an identifiable virus in his body that is causing these nodes to be "active."  There is the possibility that this is a return of the cancer.  I know it seems impossible given all that he has been through and how well he has been doing physically and from a laboratory standpoint; but this does happen on rare occasion.  Now that we are tapering Dillon's anti-rejection meds, it is possible that his body is fighting a bug but it is also possible that the lymphoma is reactivating.  Cancer treatment is an inexact science, every person's body is different, and there is still so much they don't know.  There could have been 1 single cancer cell hiding out somewhere in Dillon's body.  The new immune system might be able to fight it off if that is the case, or it might not and then we have a recurrence of cancer on our hands.  We are all worried sick and I am sure you are asking the same things we asked....what now????

First of all we will repeat the PET scan in a month to monitor these nodes.  They could be gone, they could be the same, they could be bigger.  If it is either of the latter two then most likely a biopsy will be done.  The doctors and I discussed biopsy now.  As always we weigh the risks and the benefits, and given that there is a possible "simple" explanation for these nodes being activated, the risks of biopsy at this point outweigh the benefits.  With that being said, the new scan results have been sent to UNM and the original diagnosing doctor and radiologist are going to review this new information and compare it to the old scans.  They could decide to do a biopsy sooner rather than later....or not.  As usual, we are all well-versed in the overload of information, the fear, the worry, and then the need to just sit with the information and wait for the experts to construct a plan that makes sense given all the information and experience they have.  In the meantime we are all trying....and you should too....to not let the old imagination get the best of you.  Focus on those nodes having a little immune response trying like mad to fight off some sort of illness that Dillon has picked up...that would be a good thing!

Pray, pray pray....focus on healing and on peace for Dillon (I can only imagine what is running through his mind...he has not talked about it yet but he is sleeping more than normal and he is withdrawn, so I know his brain is on overload).

One more major event, which is actually a really good thing.  Next Wednesday Dillon is getting his Broviac and his port removed.  This does mean he is going to have to deal with a few needles every month, but he has been very brave and realizes that getting these things out of his body reduces his risk of infection greatly, it simplifies his daily routine, and it means that he is closer to the end of this journey.  The doctors and I talked about delaying this removal just in case Dillon has to undergo some extra treatment because of these lymph nodes/cancer recurrence, but again the risk/benefit was weighed and we all agreed that Dillon would benefit medically, physically, and mentally by going ahead with the removal.  Dillon is VERY excited about getting this surgery done.  He can shower, he can swim, he won't have to have the daily flushing of lines with saline and heparin, and there will be no more weekly dressing changes which are excruciatingly painful.

The vitamin D/zinc/calcium situation will be re-visted next week when labs come back, as will the liver issues that I mentioned a few posts back.  His white cells, hemoglobin, and platelets are still holding steady :))

Okay, that is all I can think of at the moment.  As things evolve I will keep you all posted.  Thanks in advance for the extra dose of energy, white light, positive power, and prayer.

Oh yeah....YES we still get to go home.  This little bump might mean an extra trip back to Denver but we are still scheduled to get out of here in 13 days...YAHHOOOO!!!!!!