May 17, 2006
bc cancer agency
I visited the BC Cancer Agency this morning and met my oncologist, Dr. Savage. I also got a bunch more bloodwork and x-rays done - they have their own lab and x-ray and CT facilities there. Dr. Savage filled in a few more of the blanks regarding the disease and treatment. I’m booked for a CT scan of my belly, to look for suspicious things below the diaphram. This is one criteria of how they distinguish the stage or severity - whether or not any lymph nodes below the diaphram are affected. Dr. Savage said that Hodgkin’s “likes to stay” within the mediastinum (chest cavity), which is a good thing. She also said the Hodgkin’s is quite sensitive to chemo and even after being zapped just once, the tumor will start to “melt”. Certainly enjoyed visualizing that.
I’m also going to get a bone marrow biopsy, where they stick a needle into your hip and draw out a “core sample” of spongy bone marrow. This is done to check if any Hodgkin’s cells are “hiding” in your bones - if so a bit more treatment is required. I’ve heard that the needle is quite painful - I’m going to have to think of an extra special reward for myself after I get that done, maybe another stop at Tim Horton’s will be in order. Perhaps concentrating on that maple donut will help with the pain.
Again I was impressed by the professionalism and competence of the staff. The BCCA is an cool place - helping all kinds of different people through such a complicated, challenging, debilitating disease is no easy feat. Especially with so much fear and stigma around cancer (and health in general really), there are a lot of psychological and psychosomatic barriers to overcome to getting people healthy. They offer services beyond pure medicine like counselors, dietitians, and even a spiritual advisor to help offer a more holistic service.
I took the bandage off my biopsy site today - it’s healing nicely. I got a little infection from the IV my last two days in the hospital, resulting in a painful red bump on my arm. Heard from someone that this can happen if they don’t flush it enough with saline - and I did notice that the nurses did not seem to flush it regularly. No biggie - just something to be aware of in the future. I started taking antibiotics for it and it is improving quickly.
tags: cancer, health, hodgkin’s lymphoma, lymphoma
posted: 9:09 pm
