FAQ
Here I attempt to answer some questions about myself and my Hodgkin’s that you may have. This section may serve to answer those questions or just quench that burning desire you have to find out more about me. Either way if you have any more questions feel free to email me. I promise to make the best attempt to contact you back, however, I don’t promise to answer your question, but at least I will contact you and let you know I won’t answer your question. So with that being said, here goes:
When was I diagnosed with Hodgkin’s?
I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s the end of April 2008.
How was I diagnosed?
I had a lumpectomy (enlarged, hardened lymph node removed) and a bone marrow biopsy. The bone marrow biopsy was negative, the lymph node was, in fact, “infected” with Hodgkin’s.
How long did it take to receive my diagnosis from the time of the biopsy?
I had my surgery at 9am Wednesday morning, my oncologist called me at 11am on Friday with the results.
What ultimately led me to go to the doctor to find out I had Hodgkin’s?
Aside from the malaise (general feeling of being unwell and “sick”) and “The Great Depression”, I found an enlarged lymph node in my groin area a little bigger than a half dollar. After a couple weeks of not going away, not resolving itself and me not exactly knowing what it was, I thought it was time to get checked out.
What chemo regimen am I on?
I am currently on the MOPP regimen. I was on ABVD, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. The MOPP regimen consists of the following 4 medications:
- Mustargen (Nitrogen Mustard) - IV Infusion
- Oncovin (Vincristine Sulfate) - IV Infusion
- Procarbazine - Taken Orally
- Prednisone - Taken Orally
How often do I have to have chemotherapy?
I have chemo once a week for two weeks (IV Infusion) while taking my oral meds for the full 14 days, and then I have no IV Infusions or chemo pills to take for 14 days. Each 14 day treatment counts as 1 cycle of chemotherapy.
How long will I have to undergo chemo?
My oncologist, last Thursday (June 19, 2008), said he is thinking I will be going through chemo for about 7 months.
Will I also have to undergo radiation therapy?
As it stands right now, yes. As my wonderful oncologist so nicely put, “you will undergo 2 months of radiation to mop up what’s leftover”.
Have I lost all my hair?
As of this date, June 22, no I have not lost my hair. I have shed a lot, and still shedding…But still have my hair.
Will I lose all my hair?
The doctor tends to think so, but I’m holding out for more positive things!!
Does the chemo treatments make me very sick?
Nope, I have been very blessed and have gone through chemo mostly…I stress MOSTLY without a hitch. I have not once been nauceous. The worst I have been is having very bad indigestion. With the ABVD my white blood cell counts would go way low, but they had me on Neupogen for that with Aranesp to maintain my red blood cell counts. I also had a very bad week and a half or so of constipation. I will explain more about that at a later point. Not to be nasty or crude, but it really is a funny story. I also tend to stay VERY tired most of the time…But anymore, who doesn’t? With the MOPP treatment I have also started to experience chemo brain.
What is chemo brain?
I don’t know what it is for most people, but for me, it has made me dumb. Yes, I said it, and I said it outright…Dumb. It is very hard to sometimes make logical connections mentally. It seems, sometimes, that the wires are very crossed. I also have a hard time speaking and typing. It is often hard to get out what I am thinking, or if I do, I don’t say quite the right thing. I commonly insert the wrong word and it doesn’t match the context of the sentence or the conversation. Just like yesterday, during a conversation, instead of saying “Did you email your dad?”, I said “Did you eat your dad?”. It can be very frustrating and embarrassing. And you wouldn’t believe how difficult it has been just typing out the site not using the correct words. It would be funny to write a post using the strikeout feature for text while typing one day, just so everyone can see how hard it is to think and convey things and to see how my brain gets jumbled.
