welcome.

Hi friends,


I'm hoping that this is a helpful way to keep all of you updated.  As many of you know, I was recently diagnosed with stage IV hodgkin lymphoma and am hoping that 6 months of chemo will be all that it takes to put this behind us.  I have already seen glimpses of how this experience will be used for good and I hope that you see it too.


A little background for those of you that I haven't been able to give great updates to:  Near the end of December I noticed an unusual lump in the lower left area of my abdomen and for about 3 weeks I tried to convince myself that it was something simple that would go away.  In mid January, I met a great family care physician who recommended a CT scan of my abdomen and some basic labs to make sure we weren't missing anything.  The labs came back fine, but the CT scan showed that this lump was a group of enlarged lymph nodes and that it was actually spread throughout my abdomen.  At that time we were differentiating between an infection and a possible lymphoma... so that led to more labs and a biopsy.  The biopsy revealed "classical hodgkin lymphoma with a nodular sclerosis subtype", which was certainly something Dr. Google had to help me understand.  From what I've heard so far "if you have to get cancer... get this one", "it's the most curable", etc, certainly good to hear in the midst of lousy news.  Since these results I've had a PET scan, ECHO, pulmonary function testing, bone MRI, and bone marrow biopsy... and that's where we found the staging.  At this time the lymphoma is believed to be in my abdomen, chest, neck, and likely my lungs and hip bone, but my oncologist assures me that the treatment is the same regardless of this stage... now we just have more to follow to make sure it's all cleared.


I can't say enough about the support I've received so far.  It amazes me everyday.  My mom was able to be in town for my diagnosis and most of my testing so far and as she says she will come back in a moment's notice, and I know the rest of my family would be here tomorrow if I asked them.  I am so grateful to be in Philadelphia, surrounded by the most intentional church community, friends, co-workers, and the love of my life Erik.  Not to mention care from such a progressive university health system that is mere blocks from my apartment.


The plan for now is to start chemo (ABVD for those of you who know chemo) on March 15 for 6 cycles, which equals out to 12 treatments, every other Thursday (24 weeks from start to finish).  No radiation or surgery planned for now.  As many of you know, I have grown up to be quite the baseball fan, and have a love for the Philadelphia Phillies... this is where I found my blog title "one baseball season".  We hope that after one season this will all be behind us.


Thank you all for reading.  I'm planning to take a break from facebook for a while and just stick to updating life here.  For now, I really do feel well aside from an annoying cough (which after a few cycles will hopefully get better)... the hardest thing about all of this will be to willingly undergo a treatment that will take me from feeling well to feeling lousy... but it's not forever.


Love,
katy