WAITING

At the moment I am waiting for the results of the biopsy. Surgery was Friday and it's Wednesday afternoon. I just spoke with my surgeon's assistant and they don't have my results in yet. Lymphoma takes awhile to get biopsy results, so it's just another reason to think it's Lymphoma. If it was benign, we'd already have results. Waiting is hard.

So here is the run down of the last two weeks.

1. 11/22 - Found a lump above my collarbone Monday November 22nd. Called my GP (General Practisioner) and Eric's GP. My GP said that it's probably nothing and to schedule an appointment after Thanksgiving. Eric's GP squeezed me in on the Wed before Thanksgiving.
2. 11/24 - Went to Eric's GP and he almost immediately told me that I need to schedule an appointment with the surgeon right away. He thought that it was Lymphoma. I asked for odds (being the math geek that I am) and he gave me 75%
3. Thanksgiving weekend in Florida - I had a stuffed up ear and I convinced myself and those around me that it could be a middle ear infection. I called my ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Doc) and he wasn't in on Tuesday, so it was either Monday or Wednesday. We took Monday which meant we had to buy new flights. We spend 13 hours getting home on Sunday. Brennan was the world's most amazing baby during that time. He's so perfect!
4. 11/29 - 10:30 saw ENT. He took one look and said that I needed it out right away. It's not my ear. I could just tell that he thought it was Lymphoma. Now this guy I trust (UofMer). My middle ear hopes were dashed.
5. 11/29 - Called surgeon while at ENT's office. He squeezed me in for a consult later that day. When he walked into the room, I told him that I don't think it's been around all that long ... possibly (I told the GP that it could have been 3 months, but after further consideration I changed my mind). The surgeon said - then we could probably wait a few weeks and monitor it before surgery. This was all before he felt my neck. Upon touching my neck, he said that it had to come out right away and he squeezed me in for surgery the following Friday.
6. 12/1 - Went in for a CT scan at 8:10am that the surgeon ordered. Drank Barium, had iodine squirted into a vein, was just fine.
7. 12/2 - Called the surgeon in the morning to tell him that the CT scan was completed as he had asked me to. He called back around 6:15pm to tell me that it wasn't in my abdomen, but that there were multiple swollen nodes on the right side of my body and in the center. There was a 5X7 mass (centimeters) by my lung and a couple nodes around my heart. This is where the nodes live. They won't hurt anything. It is not in my organs. There is a cyst on my liver, but this is very common (my friend - a surgeon - confirmed that).
8. 12/3 - Had easy biopsy under twilight sleep.
9. 12/8 - Haven't heard from surgeon yet (the assistant told me that the biopsy results weren't "in" yet). BUT, I talked to the GP who told me it was classic Hodgkins Lymphoma - Nodular Sclerosing. It's got a super high cure rate. Say a prayer and be grateful for the day. Let the journey begin.