Treatment #5

It has been more than a month since I updated this blog. My main priority was getting through chemo #4 and having my doctor in Nashville review my updated CT scan to show my progress. I am happy to say that we traveled back to Nashville and my doctor at Vandi reviewed my CT and was very pleased with the results. The tumor has shrunk significantly. He said “whatever you are doing, keep it up.” I will keep up the exercise and good nutrition on my end if you guys keep up the prayers! I went through chemo #5 in Springfield last week on 7/18/07.

I am feeling good, almost quite normal. I have made the decision to go back to teach in the fall. Belmont has been very understanding to the whole situation and I am so thankful for them. I will teach part time in the fall at Belmont and possibly take a couple of classes towards my doctorate at TSU while resting and recouperating.

The only scary part is that I MAY have to have 2 more chemos (8 total) depending on what the PET scan says after treatment #6 at Vandi on 8/8. After that comes a month of radiation. It will be a hard semester but I think teaching will lift my spirits rather than just sitting and staring at a wall for 4 months.

From my reading I have learned that one in two males will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime; one in three women will hear the diagnosis as well. These are scary statistics and I know it is important for me to continue to stay positive and stay focused. Thank you so much for your cards, prayers and care packages.

Below are some individuals that have had non-hodgkins lymphoma, perhaps you know of them.

Rowdy Roddy Piper
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran
Joey Ramone, lead singer for The Ramones
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Tim Tobias, jazz pianist
Gene Wilder, diagnosed in 1999, made a full recovery in 2000
U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas
Fred Dalton Thompson, former United States Senator, actor and potential 2008 presidential candidate
Hussein of Jordan, former king of Jordan
British soap opera star Anne Kirkbride
Velvet Underground guitar player Sterling Morrison
Australian opera and musical theatre star Anthony Warlow
Golda Meir former prime minister of Israel
U.S. Nobel Prize laureate Jack S. Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit
Croatian basketball player, coach, and diplomat Krešimir Ćosić
Saku Koivu, NHL star, captain of the Montreal Canadiens
British politician Menzies Campbell
American political commentator and movie critic Steve Sailer, diagnosed with Stage IV NHL in 1997, made a full recovery after getting into a clinical trial, and has been cancer-free ever since
Ernie Johnson Jr., American sports broadcaster for TNT and TBS
Andres Galarraga, MLB first baseman
Saul Bass, American graphic designer
Scott Rentrop, professional stuntman of Louisiana
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox pitcher
David Rocastle, English footballer
Cesar Castillo, American Actor
John Hartford, American country / bluegrass composer and musician. Died June 4, 2001; after long battle with NHL
Mike Tetrault, blues musician
Bruce Gary, rock drummer (The Knack, My Sharona). Died Aug 22, 2006 from NHL.
John Cullen, NHL star, played for and captained the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning