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Salamander
Fire Walking

The waning of the year
Mon Dec 31 2007

Dr. Fell called back at 8:10 last night. He and my transplant surgeon have agreed that until we get the results of the staging tests back we should start treating topically. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma starts out like a generic skin rash, and eventually gets a raised, red and angry look to it. I've got a handfull of generic rashes on my body, and one raised, red and angry plaque. We'll start treating those tonight with a super-strong steroid cream. Steroids shut down white blood cells, and since my cancer is made up of extremely active and stupid white blood cells, it should shut down faster than the normal white blood cells. It's unlikely the cancer will be cured this way, but it is frequently completely controlled this way (at least in non-transplant people).

Got the PET scan this morning. It's actually a fairly boring test, where you mostly lay around doing nothing. Dr. Fell emailed me at 3:30 this afternoon to let me know that the results of the PET weren't available yet, so he'd probably be touching base with me around the end of the week.

The Professor only got a couple of hours sleep last night before he accompanied me downtown for the test. He's back in bed now, and I don't anticipate seeing him much before the new year.

I'm thinking I'll take myself out to dinner tonight, while the Professor sleeps. I want to have a nice New Year's Eve dinner out somewhere this year. I'm alive, healthy, and apparently in good hands, and I need to celebrate that, if only with myself for company.

Happy New Years, people.

5 Comments
  • From:
    DancingButterfly (Legacy)
    On:
    Mon Dec 31 2007
    It's always good to celebrate that the chute has opened.
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Mon Dec 31 2007
    Here's wishing you a happy AND healthy New Year.

  • From:
    KiwiKimi (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 01 2008
    It's good to hear that Dr Fell had a relatively positive reason for his call - and good to hear that they're not delaying treatment.

    I hope you're treating yourself to that nice dinner.
  • From:
    404Error (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 01 2008
    Happy New Year, dear Salamander. I hope this skin business is cleared up quickly and never bothers you again. May Dr. Fell be a well disguised angel.
  • From:
    CaraSusanetta (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 01 2008
    Thanks for the good news update. I've been figuratively holding my breath about this all night...

    Hope your dinner was yummy, too