Cancer: Stage...RIGHT

Friday was surreal. I fasted. My reward? An injection of radioactive dye that "may cause loose stool." Well, what girl could refuse those terms? I bit. Here's what I found out: my guest, Hodgkin's lymphoma, has a stage: TWO. Good thing I didn't bet money on that, cuz I was expecting three. The good Dr. Kasra Karamlou, MD Hematology Oncology of Swedish Cancer Institute explained it to me like this: the lymph nodes infected are all located above my diaphragm- specifically in my neck,lungs and armpits. Because they are only in the northern region of my body, I get awarded Stage Two. If they were found in my lower extremeties, I suspect his smile wouldn't have been as big. Treatment will be the standard four rounds of chemo with a drug therapy called ABVD. Each spaced 14 days apart. No radiation. No puking. I agreed to participate in a big Hodgkin's trial that basically requires that I have a PET (positron emission topography) exam after the second round. If my guests respond positively to the drugs, I will not need to do the other two rounds of chemo. I may lose my hair. But what's hair if I get to kick cancer's ass? I'll just do what so many of my black sistas have done before me: go to the hair store and buy some more, dammit. The cure rate for this type of cancer under this type of treatment rates as high as 95%. The lead-up to the first round on May 17 is: have a port surgically inserted in my chest to allow for easy admin of the drug cocktail. I need to surrender to a bone marrow biopsy, which magically I got Dr. K to agree to do while I'm still drugged up from the port surgery. I also need an ECHO- which will gauge the strength of my heart (yeah, like I got one of those...) and a CT Scan to gauge the shape of my guests. All of these events will be completed by Friday May 11. I owe a big thank you to everyone of you who has taken the time to send me notes of encouragement. It means the world to me to hear from you. I also owe a HUGE thank you to my dear, and newest member of the tribe: Paul Tollefson. Wearing the title of: West Coast Director of Production, he has gotten all of this stuff over the finish line- and still manages to make me laugh and feel desired. Awesome! Be sure to check back for more updates. Oh, and of course, I have a second opinion appointment scheduled for Monday. Don't worry! I'm doing my homework....unlike high school.....Michelle Nitz will be my back-up. Talk to you soon!