Hi All,

My name is Deb, but most people on the forums call me “Debs”.

I’m trying to join The Survivors, but I have to wait while the statistics finish updating. That should take about twenty minutes or so. In the meantime, I’ll tell you my story.

Not only am I a Survivor, I am also surviving. I’ll explain.

I survived cervical carcinoma in-situ in February 1985. I had a partial hysterectomy.

In the spring of 2005, I had a routine mammogram. They discovered a swollen lymph node. I came out of that clinic knowing, just knowing, what that meant. I still had my grandson’s Little League game to go to that afternoon. I hadn’t smoked for about 3 months (not enough time to learn coping capabilities), but I stopped and bought me a pack of cigarettes to calm myself down. What... I might get cancer?

I went to my doctor. He did blood tests... all came back normal. Then he sent me to get a CAT scan. It showed multiple swollen lymph nodes. Every 3-6 months, I would get blood tests and CAT scans. For 3 years, my lymph glands remained exactly the same size.

Then in October 2008, some of them grew. So I scheduled for a biopsy, but I had to postpone it due to my hospitalization for E. coli, septic shock, pneumonia, renal failure. (I was in the I.C.U. for 8 days, and the regular room for 3 days. I almost died. When I walked into my doctor’s office for a follow-up appointment, the staff stood up and applauded that I had made it through that whole ordeal.)

So the biopsy was re-scheduled for the end of March 2009. That result was iffy, so they sent another piece of it to the Mayo Clinic.

On April 8th, 2009, I was officially diagnosed with Indolent, Nodal, Marginal zone, B-cell, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Stage III. (Indolent mean slow-growing. The rest of the adjectives to differentiate the subcatagories. Stage III means it is present on both sides of my diaphram.)

My oncologist did a bone marrow test. I was terrified of that procedure as I had heard it was extremely painful. She numbed me up so much that I didn’t feel anything except the weight of her body as she was trying to break through my hip bone.

Then she sent me to get an upper GI. Apparently, some NHL cases show symptoms of an ulcer-like appearance in the stomach, and it can be cured with a prolonged course of heavy-duty antibiotics. Those results were negative.

After the results came back, she upgraded my condition to Stage IV (meaning it was present in my bone marrow). She agreed with the Mayo Clinic recommendation of a wait-and-watch approach. She said that chemo or radiation would only make me sick, and would not slow down or cure the NHL at this point in time.

I went for a second opinion with the head of the Lymphoma Division at Indiana University in Indianapolis, IN. He agreed with the diagnosis and the recommended course of wait-and-watch.

So for the past five years, with numerous routine CAT or PET scans, my glands are only growing marginally... not enough to cause problems or to bother me.

At this point, my only complaints are that I get tired easily; I seem to catch anything/everything that goes around; it takes me about twice as long to get over them; and it also takes twice as long to heal from dental surgery, cuts, scrapes, etc.

As to date, my oncologist doesn’t see any need for chemo and/or radiation.

So I have survived cervical cancer, a too-close-for-comfort illness, and I am now surviving Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

I have survived long enough since my diagnosis to see my husband (aka The Hubbit) go through two knee replacements and rehab, my oldest grandson graduate, my son and D-I-L have a second son, and my daughter get married. I am just hanging in there and doing okay.

Wow, surprisingly, that was harder than I thought it would be. While everybody in my real life knows all about this, the only person of forum life I’ve ever told was JP. (By the way, where is he?)

Okay, I have officially joined The Survivors. I doubt if I am much of a presence here, as I don’t have the energy to sit on the forums like I used to in days of old.

Deb

Welcome Debs, that is quite a lot to deal with.
We are happy you joined The survivors.
I am on my cell phone so it is painstaking to type long messages.
Will check back this weekend from my PC.

Thank you nasher, RCC Survivor, and grumpygrampy.

Since there are so many names one the forums that are new to me, I'll give a brief bio of myself.

I am in my early 60s. I've been married to The Hubbit for 44 years. We are quite definitely in the "99%" group. Actually, fairly close to the 33% group. We have two grown children, both married. We have 3 grandsons.

If I had to describe myself in one sentence, it would be: A mother first, last, and always.

[off topic]

I was able to contact JP. His email was short and sweet. He is well, but too busy for the forums.

Hi JP...

Glad to see you back!

I just got back from my niece's wedding. The Hubbit and I decided to leave early and let the young people have their fun.

Deb

Hi debs.

Be sure to ask RCC when the next team trip to Disneyworld is scheduled.

[I like the idea of a charter flight this time.]