Oncology appointment

We have received good news again today! Lori got the results of the three types of testing done to determine the stage of the lymphoma, which I'll describe below. Since some people have asked about the difference between grade and stage, I'll explain that first. Grade describes how abnormal the cells look in a biopsied sample under the microscope and how fast the cells are growing. The grade for Lori's lymphoma was 1 out of 3, with 3 being the worst. This is why it is considered a low-grade, slow-growing (or indolent) type of lymphoma. We knew this from the lymph node that was removed 3 weeks ago. Stage describes how widespread the cancer is throughout the body. To determine this, Lori had blood work, a bone marrow biopsy, and CT scan...

Blood work - NORMAL!

Bone marrow biopsy - NORMAL!

CT scan - Although there were other enlarged lymph nodes seen in the axilla (armpit), femoral (pelvic) and probably abdominal areas, there is NO ORGAN INVOLVEMENT! Our greatest concern had been the spleen since it is a major part of the lymphatic system and an ultrasound two years ago had shown that it was enlarged. We were surprised and relieved to hear that it was NORMAL! And the nodes that were enlarged on the scan were not huge.

Our understanding is that these results classify Lori as a stage 3 because she has nodes enlarged below the diaphragm. Although in general this is considered a somewhat advanced stage, this is not unusual at the time of diagnosis for Indolent (slow-growing) lymphoma. The nurse and oncologist also explained again to us today that stage is not very important when predicting the prognosis of someone with Lori's type of lymphoma (as compared to a solid tumor cancer like breast cancer).

Lori does not need any sort of treatment now and will continue to be monitored. As I think we've mentioned before, treatment will likely be needed in the future, but the goal is to hold that off for as long as possible. The things that would result in treatment include: many very enlarged nodes; many and/or large lesions on organs; symptoms; and transformation of this lymphoma to a more aggressive type (the most concerning one of all). For now though none of these things are happening and Lori will have blood work done in 3 months and return to the oncologist then for follow-up. We think that she will need to have blood work and see the oncologist every 3 months for a long time (possibly forever). She will also have a CT scan every year.

I cannot even begin to describe how happy we were to hear all of this news! Yes, Lori still has cancer and she will always have cancer. BUT she is not sick and does not need treatment right now. I feel like 99.9% of the fear from the last 2 weeks has slipped away (for me; I won't attempt to speak for Lori about her feelings on this). I feel like I can relax a little again and enjoy these last two months of pregnancy.

Thank you all again so very much for the cards, emails, phone calls, meals, prayers, etc. during the last three weeks. We will continue to keep you updated on this, but thankfully it looks like we won't have a medical update for you until August - YAY!!