Lymphoma-free but...

[Lolie]

After 6 months of chemotherapy and rituximab, my post-treatment PET showed no remaining signs of lymphoma.  For that, I will now have 3 monthly follow up appointments and 6 monthly CT scans.

BUT, there is a spot on my lung which showed up as positive on the PET.  The spot has been there since I was first diagnosed with lymphoma.  They weren't concerned about it then and it hasn't changed in any way over the 7 months since my baseline PET.  But my haematologist isn't a lung specialist so she wants me to see one for an opinion on whether the spot should just be monitored with my 6 monthly CTs (apparently lung nodules are extremely common in people over 50), or whether it should be biopsied for clarity.

So it looks like I won't be getting off the cancer roundabout just yet.  

[sch]

Hi Lolie,

Congratulations on getting through your treatment.

At the end of your treatment, I think that they tend to take a fairly cautious approach (and rightly so, in my opinion) to checking out any inconsistencies. Crossing the i's and dotting the t's, so to speak. Don't be too stressed out. The sooner you get the test done (be it the CT scan or the biopsy), the sooner you can set it aside.

Good luck Lolie.

-s

[sch]

When are you next appointments?

How are you feeling?

-s

[Lolie]

My next appointment with my haematologist is in November.  I have an appointment with the lung and sleep clinic tomorrow, which is worrying.  They only operate one afternoon a week, so my referral seems to have been triaged as urgent.

Mentally I'm feeling defeated at the moment.  Physically, I'm way out of condition and had been planning to spend the next couple of months addressing that.

[Lolie]

Had a lung biopsy done on Tuesday, so now I wait.  I asked the lung clinic to ring me when they have the results but we'll see whether they do or not.

Edit.  They did ring me and the lung mass is malignant.  I will find out the sub-type and the treatment plan when I see them on Tuesday.  The registrar made sure to reiterate that it's early stage and that they would be treating with curative intent.

I just want to get treatment over and done with before it gets too hot and have a little time to recover before Christmas.

[Lolie]

Had my planning CT done today and got my tattoos, so it's all systems go for me to start SBRT on 29 September.

[Rikki1]

Hi Lolie, glad to hear nothing showed on the PET scans but it’s a good idea to see a lung specialist for the spot on your lung which is still there. I’m having a breath test with the lung function lab tomorrow. I’m really sorry you’re still on the cancer roundabout and hope it will work out for you. Please let me know you get on.
Rikki🌸

[Lolie]

I have a lung function test booked for mid-January.

I assume that once the radiotherapy team s finished with me, they will refer me back to the lung clinic for follow up.

As I will require regular CT scans for both the lymphoma and the lung cancer, someone will need to co-ordinate a single scan being used to evaluate both to reduce my radiation exposure.