water

How much water do you have to drink a day? most people don't get the recommended 2 quarts of water that they are supposed to get. I am not one of those people. I have quart sized glasses and quart sized water bottles. and i nearly everyday made certain I drank my two quarts. it did make quitting smoking easier two years ago, every time i wanted a smoke, i drank some more water.

BUT now that I have gotten sick. with the fevers and night sweats, I must be burning up more water. I have headaches on a fairly regular basis, along with my eyes hurting. So I have been trying to increase to 3 or 4 quarts a day.

Sounds nearly impossible doesn't it? yea seems that way to me too but i am trying. right now i am clearing 3 quarts a day but i still have "dehydration" symptoms. So i know i have to keep upping it until they are gone. I keep hoping if i can get my fluids up I will feel a tiny bit better. because enough tiny bits means more good days

Prom is today

What is the chance when you have been feeling poopy for days, that the one day you tell yourself that you are going to feel good today because the kids are going to be here and you want to look good for the kids. That you actually have a good day?

Lets throw another one out there whats the chance that on that good day one of your best oldest friends just happens to be driving past your house as you are walking out to take prom pictures? one you haven't seen in a year because of their job location?

Way too many coincidences for me there. Must be God knew, or perhaps he just answered those two prayers in one day.

Needless to say, I have been thanking God today because my kids got a good memory of me for prom this year, they wont have "mom was so sick..."

and that I got to visit with one of my friends that I have missed deeply.

This is a picture of my Daughter and my friend. He has known her since she was born

Consult with surgeon

I had my consult with my surgeon today. I went to Robert Packer in Sayre.

I have a new "lump" on my shoulder at my collar bone where there just used to be a single swollen gland that I could feel. This last week it swelled way up and got hard like a tennis ball. I would also say its about the same size as one as well, but you can only see the top half of it. Anyhow my surgon has confirmed this to be another tumor. It was not there the day of my cat scan on the 17th. The glands were swollen but I did not have the tennis ball "Knot".

I am scheduled for my biopsy Wednesday at 1 PM. I have to Plan on staying over night, and I will be under complete anesthesia and in a OR.

They cannot do a needle biopsy they way they do with other cancers because of the type of tissue this grows in. Lymphoma really is a different breed of cancer. It doesn't act like normal cancer, it doesn't Grow like normal cancer, and you cant treat it like normal cancer. I wish I had more information on this subject. But I am thinking I will learn more when I meet my oncologist.

To do a biopsy they need a MINIMUM of a thimble sized piece of tissue.and they want the sample to be a "good one" these are his words I am unsure what that means unless perhaps he can tell due to his experience what a cancerous lymph node looks like as opposed to a lymph node that is just swollen?

So anyhow hes going to cut into my collarbone area and try to cut out enough of a "good" sample to be able to type this lymphoma. He assures me that he thinks this will be fine due to its size and it gets to sit there and cook till next Wednesday. If he is not happy with the sample he gets from my shoulder,while I am still under, he will go in between my ribs on my right side. He will go behind my lungs and in front of my heart. This is where the original mass is located. And he KNOWS he can get what he needs there. But that procedure is more painful and more evasive. So PLEASE pray that they can get what they need out of my shoulder.

Cat Scan

My tech was Just wonderful! full of energy and vitality. I almost felt that if I could have bottled some of her vitality and drank it I could get better!

She talked me through that cat scan I had been very afraid. Because I had never done it before. But God made certain that I had a tech that I had seen before (she was the one that suggested I should wait on that first x ray for a few days...) so I already felt like I knew her.

she made this bad day a bit better.

My mother in law (who went with me) and I went up to the doctors office to await the results of the cat scan.

They came in with in 30 mins. It showed a plethora of things
It showed that mass was only 6.5 cm and that it was in my Lymph nodes.

But my spleen and my adrenal gland, and my heart and stomach were all unaffected. Also that the mass was "connected to" the small lymph node in my collar bone area.

The "impression" stated "the findings are most likely related to Lymphoma"

Chest X Ray

I realized today that I had never gotten that chest x ray so right after work I headed up!

I went home and received a call within the hour from My mom who works at my doctors office with an urgent message from my doctor. she told me that she was going to stop here on her way home from work that day.

There was a 8cm mass in my chest cavity. We weren't sure where we just knew it was not in my lungs and not in my heart, but in that area.

I was scheduled for a cat scan on Monday at 2 pm... and I was not to "mess around"

Doctor Appt

My doctor did not like the look of my swollen gland. he says when one swells and the one on the opposite side does not sometimes it could mean lymphoma, but he wasn't certain, he ordered some blood work and a chest x-ray.

I went to get my blood work done but when I was ready for my chest x-ray, I realized that I could not have it that day and I would do it on Friday. I was certain that I would do it then.

swollen glands

I awoke this morning with a gland at my collarbone swollen up. I have had this nasty cough for a while as well, (about 2 or 3 months) so perhaps It is best for me to go and see the doctor....