Today I am wrapping up day 2 of round 2 of IVIG (see photo below). Two days of spending six hours in a chair at the Duke Speciality Infusion Center. The goal of the IVIG is to calm my immune system down so that my feet can heal. The swelling in my ankles goes down immediately. Amazing. I just need it to stick so that the nerves heal.
Re: the cancer in my neck. I met with the hematologist at Duke. He’s proposing 16 weeks of chemotherapy (three drugs). Penciled in to start on Aug. 3. Then high dose chemo with stem cell transplant. Pretty sobering and not my idea of fun.
My growth (solitary plasmacytoma) responds in 95% of the cases to radiation treatment. The radiation treatment knocked it down 25% in activity, but it didn’t shrink nor grow. So that’s why we’re on to chemo. I hate the idea of blasting my system into oblivion in order to get one spot. But we have to kill it. It’s in a “high value real estate location.” We don’t want it to spread and turn into multiple myeloma.
I will get a second option at UNC (July 21) and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (July 28). The hematologist at Duke said, “I think it’s a good idea to get a second opinion from Mayo.” I almost burst out laughing. He didn’t mention UNC. haha. I think they work so closely together and probably know the protocols.
How am I doing? At first I was sad. It hit me for a few days. I don’t want to do chemo. I tired of not being able to walk well. I could go on and on. I think I needed to grieve. Then you lift up your gaze to God. He is our hope. He is our strength. I know that His plan is good. His timing is perfect. Even though I don’t like the circumstance, I can lean into God and trust Him.
As always, I’m so grateful for the love, support, and prayers. Pray for peace and wisdom to know what step(s) to take next. HEALING in Jesus. One way or another, we will win.
