Stem Cell transplant starts tomorrow
And I was advised this morning that sadly. the cancer has returned. Although the PT scan in mid June showed remission, 4 nodes of lymphoma have now shown up in this week's scan only 2 months later. This thing is really aggressive. Needless to say, this was more then unsettling news. My doctor, who heads up the transplant unit at UM Sylvester, assured me that he and 2 colleagues, all with extraordinary credentials, independently decided that moving forward with the autologous transplant still was the right decision. Apparently, it's not uncommon for lymphoma patients to go through these even when disease is present because the massive dose of chemo will knock it all out. As there is no cancer in my bone marrow, my stem cells are just fine to infuse after 6 days of chemo. I go in tomorrow (Thurs) at 10am. Will be checking in here when I can with updates and am journaling at caring bridge (PM me if you are interested in following along with my journey there).
Taking deep breaths (and just swallowed my nightly Xanax). With 4 weeks in the hospital looming in front of me, I feel like Piper from Orange is the New Black, heading into the slammer.
Wish me luck.
= new reply since forum marked as read
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Hugs are more powerful than wishes... 
and sorry to hear the results of the latest scan. I do not know the particulars of your disease, but you can check the LLS boards, both under lymphoma and under stem cell transplant. If you do, you'll see that the word "determined" is used more frequently than the word "positive." Nobody can stay positive all the time, just try and stay determined, day by day!
As my husband's doctor said ... we have lots of drugs, use whatever meds (anti-anxiety/pain) you need to get through this period, your job is to get through the next month!
Best of luck!
And +1, +2, +3, +4 .......
"The day you receive your new cells is often called 'Day Zero'. It usually comes 1 or 2 days after you complete the preparative regimen..."
http://bethematch.org/For-Patients-and-Families/Getting-a-transplant/Transplant-day/
and that your counts continue to rise 
she is now home and taking things one day at a time.
Healing thoughts coming your way
