“The good news is that your biopsy does not show large cell lymphoma, the type of cancer you had originally. That sort of lymphoma can be very serious. In fact, in your case, you would have been dead in about a year if it hadn’t been treated.”
And this is the good news, I thought to myself.
I also gave a silent word of thanks to my daughter-in-law Anne who insisted on an immediate trip to the hospital when she recognized something wasn’t quite right with me after I carried my granddaughter up a flight of stairs.
“The bad news is that the biopsy shows you have a condition called follicular lymphoma. It’s a low grade or slow growing cancer and it’s not curable,” he continued.
His news did not come as a surprise. I was braced for much worse.
“What’s the treatment here?” I asked.
“There’s really no need for treatment at this point,” he said. “As long as you are feeling well, your body is coping with the problem. I have one patient in her early forties who’s had this condition for ten years and she continues to do well.”
That was the story I needed to hear. He went on.
“About 30% of all non Hodgkin’s cases are follicular lymphomas. The trick is to stay on top of the condition. I’ll need to see you again in about four months and we’ll do a CT scan at least once a year from now on. As long as you stay healthy, you’ll be fine.”
“Do you think the fact that I’ve recently given up drinking alcohol should help,” I said.
“Certainly it can’t hurt,” he answered with a smile. “And, I would advise you to take Vitamin D if you aren’t doing so already.”
Our meeting has filled me with hope and some degree of confidence in the future. My belated New Year’s resolutions are to eat healthy and get more exercise. Juicing is back in my dietary regime as well as eliminating refined sugar, milk and pop. I’ve also started eating asparagus, a vegetable with reported tumor shrinking properties.
After playing the cancer game in the dark for the past year, I now feel some sense of ownership over my condition and that’s a great feeling. Thanks to a quick Google search, I discovered that the median survival rate for this type of cancer is ten years. Let’s hope I can push that average up a bit. And, at least now I know my best before date!
Terry and I drove home a different way from the hospital. The Magi called it returning “by another route.” Robert Frost talked about it as “the road less travelled.”
I prefer to think of this latest development as crossing a new bridge.
What is to give light must endure the burning.
Victor Frankl
Wonderful news mike. I am sure Jacques is rejoicing in his heavenly garden. I have found that the Best Before Date is rarely correct... the stuff lasts way longer and I am alive to prove it! Use all that stuff way past the date and it is really safe and wonderful to have on hand!
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