March 3, 2022 – First Chemo Treatment

June 23, 2022 – Last Chemo Treatment

After a little over six months from my initial diagnosis and four months of chemotherapy treatments, I am happy to report that my latest PET scan shows zero lymphoma activity, and my spleen is back to normal size.  Yeahhhh…

I endured some side effects—most notably hair loss (it is strange to be hairless with no eyebrows!)—but most came and went without too much fanfare. The worst week was the very first week after the first chemotherapy treatment. I had contracted a stomach virus which, on top of the chemo, did quite a number to my system. I was back in the doctor’s office three different days that week to get fluids to get back to “normal.”

The remaining weeks were relatively uneventful for the most part. I faired better than so many others, and I am grateful for the journey I had.

It was important to me to use all the tools in my toolbox—chemotherapy, high-dose Vitamin C infusions, the love/support/positive vibes from family and friends. Cards, gifts, text messages, emails, phone calls, healing energy, and prayers were all gratefully received and accepted, and my health benefited from them all.

For this first year, I will have follow-up appointments every three months. Because of this, we will continue traveling but will stay on the east coast to make it easier and closer to get to my appointments.

We are currently making our way to Fryeburg, Maine for the upcoming International Airstream Rally. We will be back in North Carolina by mid-August for a follow-up appointment and to handle our house status. Then we will travel to Minnesota so Carl can work at a farm with the crew on corn silage cutting and sugar beets (his bucket list!) driving a truck for the harvest. Long hours and good, high pay for the month or so of work!!  A lot of RVers do this along with Amazon warehouse working and other high-pay, temporary jobs for travel money and such.

I’m so glad to be back in the Airstream with its new axles (thanks to Carl and his brother, Brad)—moving to new places and taking pictures with my camera! More to come on our travel adventures…

**Note: The video is not instructional. It is a mix of pictures and video clips showing our experience of changing our Airstream’s axles.

Carl is always thinking of something when it comes to our Airstream and our traveling lifestyle. For the past year, as we talked about a trip to Alaska sometime in the future, his focus has been on the amount of clearance we get with our Airstream. Given our penchant to boondock when we can, a few more inches of clearance would come in handy.

However, given the age of our Airstream (17 years) and knowing Airstream axles have a life of 15-20 years, he decided to change out the axles instead of just installing a lift kit.

Good news, folks! After the first three rounds of chemotherapy treatments, according to my recent PET scan, most areas that were affected have been resolved (meaning: the lymphoma is gone)! There were spots in my neck, a few of places in my back and my pelvic area, along with a spleen that had “innumerable” lesions that had enlarged. My spleen has started to shrink back to normal size (normal is 12 cm; mine enlarged to 19 cm; and it is now 14.5 cm), and the other areas have cleared. My doctor says it is rare to see someone respond so well midway through. She usually expects some response, but mine indicates complete resolution. I will still have the final three rounds of treatment with another PET scan two weeks after the last one. If things continue as they are right now, I hope to announce a clean bill of health by mid-July as we make our way north to Maine for the International Airstream Rally in Fryeburg, Maine and maybe a national park or two—something I have been looking forward to for several months!

As many of you might know, I am now half-way through chemotherapy treatment. I have had three rounds with three more to go, at the end of which I hope to be given a clean bill of health. I will know more at the beginning of May because I have a mid-cycle PET scan scheduled for April 30, and I’m looking forward to seeing if my lights have dimmed (lit-up areas in a PET scan indicate areas of concern; less light, less concern!).

Side effects are part of any treatment regimen, as we all know. I have a few. Hair loss is the most noticeable. I have lost about ¾ of my hair. It fell out in fistfuls after the first round of chemotherapy but slowed after the second round. My hair is incredibly thin now, but I haven’t reached a point where I want to shave my head. I keep it covered because it keeps my head warm and because, frankly, I don’t like how it looks. But I’m not upset about it. Hair loss indicates that the treatment is doing what it is supposed to do. I might have what little hair I have left trimmed to be shorter so that, once my hair starts growing back in, it might not look so ghastly.

It has been a long week. After receiving a precise diagnosis of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma on March 1, my chemotherapy was able to start on Thursday, March 3. I was relieved because—after two long months—I finally knew what type of lymphoma I had, and I had a schedule for treatment. My relief was coupled with apprehension. I was about to embark on a road to recovery that involves having, in essence, poison pumped into my veins. R-CHOP is the gold standard for this type of lymphoma, and we have heard from others who had been similarly diagnosed and recovered with flying colors. But the week had more in store for me than I had bargained, and I hope to not have a repeat of it.