Yucky

I just got a text message from Eric, it was a picture of his open wound. I WILL NOT post it here I don't want you to vomit cheerios all over your keyboard. Let's just say it's pretty awful. The surgeon came & saw him they are not letting him go home today, he says it's still infected. Eric is pretty bummed. As much as he LOVES soggy french fries, and baconless grilled cheese he would like to be home with out the poking & prodding from nurses. We're hoping tomorrow's your day Eric!!

Quick update

I'm baaaack did you miss me. Thanks Mommy for updating for me. Just a few changes from below Eric is NOT having chemo on Thursday, his surgeon feels that chemo is not a good idea because Eric has an open wound that is recovering from infection. The chemo's job is to kill Eric's immune system, this may prevent him from a good recovery. They can do the chemo with a PIC line in his arm once the infection clears up. Then when they feel his body is ready they can place a new port-a-cath. He looks really good, yay for good news we needed it. (P.S. prayers for my grandma she had a rough day, we're hoping tomorrow's a better day.)

SURGERY IS OVER (THIS ONE ANYWAY)

This update is being done by mom as Brandi and Hailey are at the hospital going back and forth between Eric's room and the ER as their grandmother Johnston is having some health issues.

Eric had surgery about 11:30 this morning to have the port-a-cath taken out. When we met with his surgeon he stated that there was a lot of discolored fluid in the upper part and around the device. They cultured both areas and hope to have the results later today. They won't be putting in another port until all of the infection is gone. Eric will be having another sleepover tonight at the hospital and getting more of the delicious treats (IV-Antibiotics). Since he hadn't had anything to eat since last night Eric decided to snack on a cracker. Low and behold the nurse caught him and he had to spit it out as the doctor had not sent over any orders stating that he could have anything to eat yet. Needless to say he wasn't very happy. Eric is still scheduled for his first chemo treatment at Huntsman's on Thursday with or without the port-a-cath. We will update later once we get more information.

Surgery...

Eric is having surgery today at 12:00 to remove the port-a-cath, this is all I know for now.

Upside down hearts & bacon :0)

Just got home from visiting Eric in the hospital. His infection is about the same, they are giving him I.V. antibiotics about every 6 hours. It's on his left upper chest in the shape of an upside down heart, which is just darling (not really). Eric seems to be feeling better they have given him morphine for the pain. He is being a perfect patient, he only had one gripe they wouldn't let him order bacon on his grilled cheese sandwich, so Hailey being the sweet sister she is went to the cafeteria & brought him some up. Tomorrow around noon the surgeon will decide if the port-a-cath needs to come out. Eric asked the doctor today if he could keep it if they take it out, let's hope he doesn't get a souvenir, we'd all like it to stay in.

Getting worse...

Eric was just seen in the E.R. by the surgeon, the infection has spread. They have decided to admit him into the hospital, they are going to try 24 hours of I.V. antibiotics. If this doesn't clear up the infection they will remove the port-a-cath, and start over. This is a set back but he's doing well. He even went out to eat last night (shocking though no bacon or cheesecake). Hopefully this I.V. antibiotic will help things...I'll let you know.

A little better

After a rough night and watching Eric's infection spread outside the lines (the nurse drew a line, it spread past it) things are looking a little better. As of last check Eric was snoozing away, much better than 3 am when he was doing anything but sleeping. He called the oncologist on call last night they are trying to give the antibiotics 24 hours to work. Let's hope things get better from here on out...

Update from below...

Eric saw the surgeon, he started him on antibiotics but didn't seem concerned. Eric didn't feel comfortable so he called the oncologists at Huntsman's, they wanted to see him immediately. He went back up, they drew blood work. They are watching this very closely, they believe Eric may have an infection. If this is the case the port-a-cath will need to be removed (more surgery), he will need I.V. antibiotics, he will need to completely infection free before they can reinsert the port-a-cath. Let's pray this isn't the case, this will delay his treatments. They will be watching his blood cultures closely. I'll update you if anything changes.

Huntsman Cancer Center

I must start by saying the Huntsman Cancer Center is pretty amazing. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly impressed me. We arrived at 8:00 am yesterday, Eric checked in at the Lymphoma clinic, yes they have an entire clinic devoted to each type of cancer. He first saw the P.A. and she again did a full physical of Eric. She spoke with us for quite a while, answered all of our questions & even gave Eric a hard time for not completing his medical history form (we liked her already!) We then met with the oncologist, she explained how lymphoma occurs (I'll post about that later) We found out they didn't have all of the tests from McKay Dee that they were needing they were missing the PET scan. They had their pathologists look again at the slides from the pathology from the infamous lymph node that started all of this. They agreed it is Hodgkin's mixed cellular Lymphoma. The doctors were concerned with the fact that Eric has some history of asthma problems & last week he had that chest pain (remember the chest x-ray?) So they sent him to U of U for PFT's (this measures your lung function). So as he did those Hailey, Mom & I went in search of that pesky PET scan, we picked it up at IMC in SLC, and met Eric back at Huntsman Cancer Center for part 2 of the day. We again met with doctors they confirmed that it is stage 2A and that if Eric does his treatment there he will be doing 4 months of chemotherapy (a total of 8 treatments), and then radiation treatments every day for 3 weeks (this radiation treatment can be done in Ogden). They gave us a tour of the Hospital, and the Institute, we saw the research labs, the infusion center, and 2 very yummy restaurants. It was definitely a lot to take in, & Eric is weighing his options. Either way he will start treatment next week (Thursday if he goes to Huntsman, Friday if he goes to McKay). We are trying to remain neutral in all of this, we would like Eric to make the decision, he is the one receiving the treatments, he needs to decide what option he is more comfortable with. It was a difficult day yesterday, an emotional one for sure. But I was once again impressed with how well Eric is handling things, it's a lot for one person to think about.
Just to update you-Eric's incision is bothering him (from the port-a-cath) he is going to see the surgeon this afternoon, I'll let you know how that goes.

Long day...

We left this morning at 6:30 am & didn't get home until 6:00 pm, a very long (& emotional) day. We are all truly exhausted. I promise tomorrow I will give you the complete breakdown on the appt. Tonight I am to tired. I will just tell you this, the assessment and diagnosis were the same at Huntsman, there are definitely pros & cons to getting treatment there, as there are at McKay Dee. Eric is weighing his options and has not come to a decision yet. I will post all the details tomorrow, but for now things are the same.

Off to SLC

Tomorrow we are off to The Huntsman Cancer Center, his appointment is at 8:00, I'm not sure what kind of information we will get once we get there but I will let you all know. Eric is still scheduled to start chemotherapy treatments a week from Friday, but that date could change I'll let you all know.

Feeling better, on to the next thing

Eric is feeling much better, he was not feeling well Friday after the port-a-cath. He is now back to work and doesn't have anything scheduled until Thursday. We have a fun filled schedule that day, he has an appt. scheduled at Huntsman's cancer center at 8:00 am, he then has to go to U of U for a "procedure" (sorry Eric couldn't resist :0). We are going to take mom for a belated birthday lunch, then we have to pick up some "craft" items for mom's business. Any guesses on where we'll be going? I'm sure it will involve the words cheese & cake.

Done with port-a-cath & more news

Port-a-cath is in, everything went well. He is a beautiful shade of oompa-loompa orange (from the iodine). He is scheduled to start chemotherapy on Oct. 3rd, that date could change if he decides to do his treatments at The Huntsman Cancer Center. The chest x-ray from yesterday didn't show any infection. Now for the best news Mom got her birthday wish Eric's bone marrow biopsy was clear...yay!! So for right now nothing else is scheduled until next Thursday (that's his appt. at Huntsman's). I'll let you know if something changes. In the meantime is there something about his cancer or treatments you're confused about? Let me know & I can post links here...

New slideshow

Quick update

Just wanted to let you all know that Eric met with a new surgeon today & he will be placing the port-a-cath tomorrow morning around 8:00. Today was supposed to be quiet, but true to form wasn't (we haven't had a "quiet" day in weeks). Eric had a chest x-ray done this morning he hasn't been feeling well & they are just checking things out. He is on an antibiotic just in case it's an infection. He says he's falling apart at the seams, once again though all we do is eat, Mom sent him home tonight with more cheesecake, so which is it Eric cheesecake or bacon or both?

Not a lot today...

Eric did get the results back from his MUGA scan, it showed the function of his heart as normal. This is important because the port-a-cath used for the chemo is placed in the superior vena cava vessel at entrance of the right atrium of the heart. We believe he will get this placed either this Friday or next. As I said in an earlier post he has an appointment at the Huntsman Cancer Center next Thursday. We haven't heard back on the bone marrow results we don't expect these results until at least Friday.

I also wanted to update you with a few questions we asked the oncologist this week:

1. Because Eric is stage 2 Hodgkin's not stage 3 he will be doing about 6 months of chemo plus radiation treatments following the chemo. Studies have shown that the two treatments in early stage Hodgkin's lead to a higher survival & a less likely recurrence rate. (Later stage Hodgkin's is normally only treated with chemotherapy)

2. The ABVD chemo treatments should last about 3 hours, the actual drip itself lasts about 1 hour 1/2 you can read more about that here Lymphoma Information Network - ABVD Chemotherapy

If there are any other questions any of you have please post them in the comments section or email me at rkings2991@aol.com.

Glad to be done with that...

Well the bone marrow biopsy is done, hopefully he should have the results back by Friday. He said it was very painful, a four letter word might have been uttered. But we are not judging, a few of us around here might also have said a few four letter words in the passing days. But anyway, he's glad it's over, so are we. He met with the surgeon this afternoon, we still aren't sure when he will get the port-a-cath placed, they are waiting on the MUGA scan results. For right now he doesn't have anything scheduled for tomorrow, if that changes I'll let you know.

Bone marrow biopsy & yet another birthday!

First we all want to wish our beautiful mom a Happy Birthday!! She has said that she wants nothing more for her birthday than a clear bone marrow biopsy for Eric today!! We're all hoping with her. On a more serious note, Eric is not excited about the bone marrow biopsy. He has been wanting to "get it over with" for several days. We are hoping the pain is much less than he is anticipating, we already know he's tough! He loves reading your comments & well wishes, I know it is helping him through these tough times. Thank you for loving our brother & wanting the best for him. I will update later after the procedure (by the way we won't know the results from it for several days.)

BIG NEWS! & correction

Eric called me right in the middle of the MUGA scan, big news! More importantly some good news (Finally!). It looks like the PET scan is showing Stage 2 NOT stage 3 like the doctor was fearing from the physical exam. This is big, it's not showing any cancer cells below the diaphragm. He will now be having the bone marrow biopsy tomorrow afternoon & meeting with the surgeon to schedule the port-a-cath tomorrow as well. Also Eric has decided he would like to have a consult down at the Huntsman cancer center, he feels, and we all agree that he just wants to make sure he has the most up-to-date treatments possible. I'm not sure when we'll hear the results from the MUGA scan (I forgot to ask I was so excited). I'll let you know when we hear more. Keep praying guys, it's working!

Quick update

Not a lot of info but I wanted to update you all...the doctor could not reschedule the bone marrow biopsy for today, instead he has rescheduled it for Wed. afternoon. He still has the MUGA scan this afternoon, and a consult with surgery coming up this week (for the port-a-cath). The nurse at Dr. Hansen's office is trying to get the results from the PET scan back, hopefully we should hear something by later today. On a different subject, we'd like to wish our step daddy a happy 66th birthday!! We love you!! I'll update more when I can.

Big day

Today is a big day, today Eric should get his PET scan results, he also has a MUGA scan scheduled. He is trying to get the doctor to do the bone marrow biopsy this morning, he wants to get it over with. Prayers are needed today. Let's hope the scan shows good results, specifically we would like it to show NO malignant lymph nodes below the diaphragm, the doctor believes there are some in the groin, but as we know doctors can be wrong. This is what we are praying for today. I will update more when we know the results.

We love you Eric!!

Not much today...

Not a lot to report today, Eric received the final pathology report on the lymph node. It is Mixed Cell Hodgkin's, this is a moderately aggressive cancer. He had his PET scan today, he should have more information on that on Monday. On a quick side note you'll all be excited to know he hasn't lost his appetite, he ate at Ruby River two nights in a row with a visit to Cheesecake Factory in between for lunch (I'm not complaining he brought me delicious treats, thanks Eric). He says he's hoping to be the only obese person on chemo. Let's hope.

Today's appt.

Eric met with Dr. Hansen today, he informed us that Eric is a difficult case (we already knew that :0) When we arrived we were informed that Eric's pathology results are still not complete. The pathologist believes that Eric has Hodgkin's disease, they are leaning towards "Mixed Cell Hodgkin's", but they are unsure. They said that the results don't completely match the "fingerprint" that Hodgkin's often has so they are having someone complete a second opinion. We should know more about that next week (where have we heard that before?)

In the meantime they have scheduled him for a PET CT tomorrow (a good explanation of what this is can be found here :PET Scan: PET Scans and Cancer.) Next week he will have a MUGA scan (to test the function of the heart), and he will have a port-a-cath placed in his chest which will help facilitate his chemo treatments. He will also need to have a bone marrow biopsy done, this is the only way to determine with certainty that he does not have stage 4 cancer.

The doctor did a physical exam of Eric & said he believes based on that exam that Eric is in Stage 3, and beginning to show some B symptoms (you can read more about that here Hodgkin's Lymphoma Types: Lymphocytes and Reed-Sternberg Cells), but he is unable to say with certainty until these other tests come back.

Based on all the information we have (and the lack of information we don't) we are anticipating Eric starting chemo in 2 weeks. More on that to come...

Where to start?

The difficulty in starting this blog is knowing exactly where to start...I guess we'll start at the beginning. About two months ago Eric noticed a painful lump on his neck (where his neck slopes down to meet his shoulder). He was started on an antibiotic by his doctor (P.A. Tara). Upon finishing the antibiotic he still was experiencing some pain, but tried to ignore it. Finally last week Eric decided he needed to figure out what was going on & made an appointment with her again. She quickly got him in for an ultrasound, they then sent him for a C.T. scan. The news was not good, they scheduled Eric for a biopsy the next morning. Friday morning he went for the biopsy (looking hot in his blue hospital gown, I have a pic I'll post later :0), the doctor was able to remove most of the first lymph node but commented that it looked "suspicious", and noted there were other lymph nodes all in line that looked the same. The weekend was long, we waited, and waited, and Monday came the news we were fearing. Eric has Lymphoma. We don't know how advanced, or what type, or why. He has an appointment Thursday with an oncologist. He should have the final biopsy results, more than likely he will require another C.T. scan (his first was only from the sternum up), from that and some more blood work they should be able to determine what stage, and type of cancer Eric has. We think he caught it early, Eric has had few symptoms (tiredness, itchy skin, and the enlarged lymph node) other symptoms he has not had (fevers, night sweats, weight loss), we believe this is a good sign. We will also find out Thursday what method of treatment will be best for Eric's type of cancer, more than likely he will start this next week. I will update later when we know more, but for now this is all we know. Here is a link for the Lymphoma Society if you have any questions.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society