Oh so happy. PET scan from April didn't find anything. Now it's been several months and actually my wife and I now have our first child, Lucas David Watkins who is 5 months old. I just went in for another PET scan and the results showed almost nothing coming back. There is a small spot under my armpit but the doctors say it's normal and can just be scar tissue. So far so good. We'll see what the next PET scan shows 5 months from now.
Also, my website service provider has been having trouble so if you want to see the rest of my videos they can be found by searching "hodgkin's lymphoma - treatment" on youtube.com.
Happy Holidays to all.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Post Chemo - PET SCAN
I went in and had a PET scan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET_scan) done on May 6th.
Results should come in next week. Fingers crossed and prayers are much needed for this as the PET scan will determine if the chemo worked and if I will need radiation.
On a different note: my wife has just been put on bed rest until the baby comes due at the end of June. Everything is very healthy so far. Never thought Judy and I would be both working from home at the same time from medical conditions....at least it's very easy to have lunch together now, ha.
Results should come in next week. Fingers crossed and prayers are much needed for this as the PET scan will determine if the chemo worked and if I will need radiation.
On a different note: my wife has just been put on bed rest until the baby comes due at the end of June. Everything is very healthy so far. Never thought Judy and I would be both working from home at the same time from medical conditions....at least it's very easy to have lunch together now, ha.
Treatment 12 - 4/22/2010
Hip Hip Hooray....last treatment, hopefully!!!!
This was by far the worst treatment as I threw up for a few days. Also the entire next week was extremely rough, which I'm thinking maybe I got food poisoning that maybe helped contribute to it. Seasonal allergies have started to kick in as we've had pollen counts right above 3,000. Luckily I've contained myself to being indoors almost all the time so haven't been too affected by it.
This has been quite a roller coaster and I want to thank all those who supported me throughout this very interesting jouney.
Next up....PET scan to determine what's next to do.
This was by far the worst treatment as I threw up for a few days. Also the entire next week was extremely rough, which I'm thinking maybe I got food poisoning that maybe helped contribute to it. Seasonal allergies have started to kick in as we've had pollen counts right above 3,000. Luckily I've contained myself to being indoors almost all the time so haven't been too affected by it.
This has been quite a roller coaster and I want to thank all those who supported me throughout this very interesting jouney.
Next up....PET scan to determine what's next to do.
Treatment 11 - 4/8/2010
I knew this month was going to be rough, especially since it's basically the last month of chemo. I felt really terrible and threw up again. Oh well I figure if there's only a few more treatments, then bring on the throwing up.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Treatment 10 - 3/25/10
So so so so happy. The nurses saw me starting to get pale in the middle of my treatment and then proceeded to give me Adavane (sp). It helps with nausua and I was so lucky that I didn't throw up this time. Now a few days later and I'm starting to feel good and much better than last time as throwing up for two days just takes more out of you. Well, 2 more left which I am now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel to where I will be able to lead a normal life again after all this........oh sweet!!!
Treatment 9 - 3/11/09
Another treatment and more throwing up.....kind of tired of that. Well, luckily only 3 more treatments then we'll see where my journey takes me next. Took 5 days or so to recover but walking has helped tremendously just to get outside and move the body around some.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
8th Treatment 2/25/10
Heck yeah another treatment down, 4 more to go. So I was hoping the last treatment was a fluke in that I was throwing up but not so much. I threw up more this time and it took me about 5 days to recover from this treatment before I started feeling somewhat normal again.
Some of the feeling's I've been having: headaches, migraines, constipation, body aches, exhausted, stomach pains, sore throat from throwing up, throwing up, chemo brain meaning forgetfulness, empty/no thoughts, etc. These are alot of the things I've gone through so hopefully I've covered the gambit by now.
Thanks again for everyone's support, thoughts, & prayers as I AM GOING TO BEAT THIS!!!!
Some of the feeling's I've been having: headaches, migraines, constipation, body aches, exhausted, stomach pains, sore throat from throwing up, throwing up, chemo brain meaning forgetfulness, empty/no thoughts, etc. These are alot of the things I've gone through so hopefully I've covered the gambit by now.
Thanks again for everyone's support, thoughts, & prayers as I AM GOING TO BEAT THIS!!!!
7th Treatment 2/11/10
So I'm really excited this is my 7th treatment, meaning I only have 5 left. However this treatment was the hardest I've been through. This is the first treatment I've thrown up from and it was a very exhausting experience. I sooooo want to be over all this and back to normal.
Monday, February 8, 2010
JAN 28th - 6th Treatment - Halfway There
Well surprise surprise, I'm halfway done. Oh yeah!
The 6th treatment was about the same as the 5th treatment. I thought I was going to be able to keep my hair throughout everything but it's starting to shed again so I'm thinking I will have to shave it ALL off around the middle of February. Will post pics when that happens since who doesn't want to see a bald young man, sweet.
Anyway changing my diet has also made things better for me along with going on walks several times a week. Work has been picking up quite a bit so that's the only frustating thing b/c even though I'm only working part-time sometimes I just don't have that much energy.
Thanks still for everyone's thoughts and prayers and I'm Soooooo happy I'm about over the hump.
Oh yeah and my new insurance has been incredible as they haven't wanted any payments yet, so I'll just wait and see.
The 6th treatment was about the same as the 5th treatment. I thought I was going to be able to keep my hair throughout everything but it's starting to shed again so I'm thinking I will have to shave it ALL off around the middle of February. Will post pics when that happens since who doesn't want to see a bald young man, sweet.
Anyway changing my diet has also made things better for me along with going on walks several times a week. Work has been picking up quite a bit so that's the only frustating thing b/c even though I'm only working part-time sometimes I just don't have that much energy.
Thanks still for everyone's thoughts and prayers and I'm Soooooo happy I'm about over the hump.
Oh yeah and my new insurance has been incredible as they haven't wanted any payments yet, so I'll just wait and see.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Jan 15 - New Insurance Info & shot
Received my next Neulasta shot today. Seems like I will be getting this shot with every treatment, which costs around $5,000 - $7,000 per shot. THANK GOD FOR INSURANCE!!!
So I was with Kaiser in 2009. Their customer service was a pain but payments were a breeze. I had a total of 4 surgeries and almost all expenses were co-pay which ended up costing around $1,300 for the entire year.
Now I am with Aetna as a PPO. Up to this date I have seen the doctor 4 times and now I am already at my out of pocket max for the year, $1,500. Amazing that I hit that amount after just a few visits although my situation is a little different. The PET scan alone is around $8,000.
Overall it's a pain to come out of pocket this much in January already but it's better than the alternative I guess.
So I was with Kaiser in 2009. Their customer service was a pain but payments were a breeze. I had a total of 4 surgeries and almost all expenses were co-pay which ended up costing around $1,300 for the entire year.
Now I am with Aetna as a PPO. Up to this date I have seen the doctor 4 times and now I am already at my out of pocket max for the year, $1,500. Amazing that I hit that amount after just a few visits although my situation is a little different. The PET scan alone is around $8,000.
Overall it's a pain to come out of pocket this much in January already but it's better than the alternative I guess.
Jan 14 - 5 treatment
We'll I have some great news to share. I had a PET scan last week to get it compared to the PET scan I had before treatments. Briefly, a PET scan shoots radio isotopes into your body and lights up all the cancer cells. The latest PET scan showed little to no cancer showing.....AMAZING!
This means potentially no radiation after the rest of my treatments which would be incredible.
Also, had my 5th treatment and the day after is going so far so good. The 3rd treatment was the worst by far which I think occurred b/c I was catching up the entire time with my medicine since I had forgotten to take it one time.
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