A friend asked: How did the diagnosis [Mantle Cell Lymphoma] come about in the first place?
A: I guess I haven't written about that part of the story. On December 31st, Michael woke up with a weird feeling in his right groin area. He checked it out and could see and feel that the area was swollen. He had had a hard workout the evening before, and this discovery had him worried that he had popped a hernia. He was bummed, because he figured he would probably have to have surgery.
A few days later, Michael was at his Primary Care Physician's office getting the swollen area checked out. The doctor told him that, no, this was not a hernia, these were swollen lymph nodes. Michael had blood drawn (came out normal) and was scheduled for a CT scan.
The CT scan results indicated this issue could be non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, so a surgical biopsy was scheduled. The biopsy took place on Michael's 50th birthday. We had been told it would take three business days - until the next Monday - to get the results. It took a friggin' week before Michael's surgeon called him with the results (Didn't doctors used to deliver blows like this in person???)
I remember the day. I was out taking a walk with a friend. It was late afternoon when I arrived home. I drove up to out house, and Michael's truck was in the driveway. That weirded me out but, for some reason, it didn't enter my mind that the reason he was home so early was because of the news he had just heard. He met me at the door...
You can read about Mantle Cell Lymphoma on the internet. It is not something I ever want to read again. I have read of a lot of cases of MCL that are found because someone notices a lump in their neck. I haven't done a lot of research on the stories of individuals, but Michael's is the first story that I have read where the person was symptom- free at diagnosis (usually people go to the doctor when the cancer has reached a later stage) and the first that I have read where the swollen lymph nodes were in the groin area. I'm sure there are plenty of people who find their MCL by discovering swollen nodes in the groin, I just haven't seen any.
Pay attention to your nodes!
4 comments:
Carol, I haven't been in touch for a while, so I was stunned to see that Michael has cancer. I went to your blog to send my condolences for the loss of your Dad. I know it has been a long difficult struggle for Uncle John. Right now my mind is running through all those wonderful memories of visiting your family in both Hutch and Denver. From watching The Birds on Color TV, gashing my leg open playing King on the Gas meter in your front yard, to snow tubing and glacier hiking in Colorado. They were all great times and your Dad had plenty of stories to tell, and plenty of "Dad to Dad" debates between your Dad and mine. Please know I am thinking about you and your family in these difficult times.
Thank you for your kind words and thoughts, Randy.
When my mom went to see Dad at lunchtime, she showed him the photo of all of the brothers. Over the last year, there were only rare times when he could name each one. Today was one of those days when he could do that. Now he is with grandma and all of his brothers, except Clyde.
We sure had some fun times back in the day, eh?
Swollen lymph nodes! That's a good to know. So many people I know are battling cancer. It's a scary thing.
Well, a lot of lymph nodes are hidden deeply in the body, so we don't always notice them. But the ones in the armpits, neck and groin are right out there, showing their stuff.
I know too many people with cancer, too, Foam. We live in a pretty toxic world, from chemicals to electrical fields...
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