Final Scan Update - My Cancer is Back

My heart is breaking as I write this.

On Monday, November 21st, I went in for my final PET scan. We expected it to be smooth sailing as the midway scan showed incredible results and there were no enlarged cancerous nodes at that time.

Tuesday evening I got the results. The treatment resolved 2 of the cancerous areas; the one in my groin and those in my neck. However, after being off chemotherapy for 5 weeks, the cancer in my abdomen is very present and of a similar size as when I started chemotherapy in May. My medical team was exceptional and went back to the midway scans and confirmed they were accurate and I was cancer free at that time.

On Tuesday, November 29th, I went for a biopsy. They are very concerned that the cancer I originally had (NLPHL) has transformed into a more aggressive cancer. NLPHL is known for transforming from one lymphoma to another. In order to get the best treatment, they need to know what kind of cancer they're dealing with.

At this point, we are unsure of the prognosis, as it will depend on the type of cancer I have. We are hopeful we will have biopsy results in a week or two. Regardless of the odds, it is clear I will need to get through a very challenging year.

Thursday, December 1st, I began an aggressive form of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy cycle will be every three weeks, and weeks one and two will be when I receive treatment. In week three, I will meet with my oncology team to review and adjust medications to combat the side effects.

We anticipate I will have 2 rounds of this treatment. After the chemotherapy, I will be evaluated and, fingers crossed, be eligible for a stem cell transplant which could be early in the new year.

For the stem cell transplant, I will be treated as an outpatient and live at home, but I will need to go to the hospital daily for 30 days. On the first day, they will harvest my stem cells and put them in storage. Then I will have about 5 days of very intense chemotherapy which will kill any remaining cancer cells, but will also destroy my ability to make blood cells for my body (think white blood cells, platelets, etc). After that, they will reinject my stem cells, which will graft to the inside of the bones, and start working again. For the remainder of the month, I report daily to the hospital for monitoring. I have been told I will likely be admitted throughout this time as I will have caught an infection, or need a blood transfusion.

Once the month is up, I am in for a minimum of 6 months of monitoring, which I think is code for living like it was March of 2020 and the start of Covid After that, there may still be months of recovery.

I know this is a lot of information and detail, but I prefer to give you more than less so that you’ll understand our situation for the next year.

If someone you know asks about my condition, you are more than welcome to share the news or send them to my website. From there, they can choose to subscribe, or follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. My plan is to continue to send updates through there.

Please send all the strength, love, energy, and courage you can to help us get through this next fight. I am in the battle for my life and I am going to win. My current slogan is, “WE got this!” I believe it takes a village to raise a child and it will take a village to battle my cancer.