I've had a great week! I enjoyed a wonderful dinner and evening with friends when we went to see Foreigner on Saturday night. I also really enjoyed the show by Chilliwack as the opening act. On Sunday, Hubby and I went for a good long walk in the cold sunshine. There is still some snowy bits in the woods where the sun has not been able to reach it and melt it. It's been too cold for the snow to melt on its own.
I'm going to back up a bit to my January 31 appointment with my oncologist. That was the first time he had mentioned that I may have to have a maintenance program of Rituxan for a period of 2 years. This is a normal procedure for patients with follicular lymphoma. At that appointment in January, my doctor decided to wait before starting the maintenance program. On March 7, when the PET scan came back showing something new in the right side of my abdomen, my doctor was torn whether to start the rituxan maintenance program or wait and see if this spot grows bigger. The rixtuxan may cause it to shrink and then they wouldn't know what it was. Another form of lymphoma? More follicular lymphoma? More serious chemotherapy to treat it? Nothing could be decided about any of that until a biopsy is done. When I saw my oncologist on March 14, he again mentioned that I may have to start the rituxan maintenance program before the end of March. Apparently, our medicare (OHIP) will cover the cost of the rituxan maintenance if it is started within 6 months of my last rituxan chemotherapy. This was done at the end of September. The end of the 6 month window is the end of March. On March 14, he was still undecided about what to do.
On Monday of this week, I received a phone call from my oncologist. He had decided that it would be prudent to start the maintenance program. If we started it after the 6 month window, I would have pay for the injections. That would be $10,000 for each injection. Thank goodness my doctor made the decision to start the maintenance program asap. I had my first injection yesterday morning. It takes 3 hours to have the rituxan intravenously. I will have to go every 3 months for 2 years and this will help to keep the lymphoma in remission longer. Because I started it yesterday, I do not have to pay the price tag of $10,000 each time. That math adds up to $80,000 in the course of the 2 year treatment plan.
Because I had an allergic reaction to my very first rituxan treatment way back in January 2012, I always have to have 2 benadryl pills before the nurses can start the rituxan. One of the side effects of rituxan is flu like symptoms like headaches, joint pain, fever and nausea. So, again before treatment can be started, I also have to take 2 tylenol. Once those pills are downed, I am started on a bag of fluid for hydration and then the ritxan goes in. Yesterday, I was very tired when I returned home in the afternoon. That was a result of the combination of the benadryl and the rituxan.
This morning, I am still tired and unmotivated to do anything. Thank goodness I don't seem to have any nausea although last night I wasn't very hungry for my supper. Even this morning, I forced myself to eat some breakfast although I didn't really feel hungry. Life goes on. This is just a part of my life with lymphoma. I'm hoping to do some light cleaning this morning and then maybe even get outdoors and work in the yard. On Monday afternoon, I was able to start raking up the leaves that I was unable to rake in the Fall. I'm hoping that I can tackle that again this afternoon. It will all depend on how I feel. I know from past experiences with chemo that if I push myself and do too much, then I feel ill.
With Easter coming up this weekend, I have been thinking about the crosses we all have to bear. There is always someone worse off than me. I know that sometimes my "cross" gets a little heavy and that's when I realize that God has given me strength and support through prayers and the love of family and friends. So although we all have our "crosses", this Easter I am going to enjoy my weekend with family. I'm going to enjoy my time with Hubby. Life is good!
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