Waiting on a Diagnosis and The Boys in the Boat

It’s been a busy week on the diagnosis front but still no treatment plan in place. As I was getting ready for treatment last week I reflected on a number of stories you all have shared about misdiagnosis and I didn’t want to end up in that situation. While my heart was telling me, “start treatment as quickly as possible”, my head was telling me “get as much information as possible before acting.”

Shannon and I went to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston (MDA) to meet with Dr. Jason Westin, who chairs the Large Cell Lymphoma Department to get a second opinion on my diagnosis. MDA is an incredible facility with the best doctors, researchers and staff in the world when it comes to dealing with cancer. We were very blessed to have this opportunity.

As I looked around at so many of the sick patients I felt a little out of place and fortunate. I’ve said to a few of you, “I feel like I’m playing against the JV team compared to other friends we know.” But you still need to lace up your shoes and blow them out by 30 points.

I’ll do my best to summarize my understanding of where we are currently at. This is my layman’s understanding/explanation. We know it is Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. The results of the PET scan are back and the cancer is stage 1 or 2 (there was a little flare up in my throat area but very minor) and my bone marrow is clean of cancer.

What we need to determine from the original biopsy of the tumor in my nasal pharynx is the subtype of Lymphoma we are dealing with. Here is a brief (but a bit technical) explanation of the three subtypes. Basically as I understand it, if its the GCB subtype it will require standard chemo and radiation therapy BUT if it is the ABC subtype there are some other options available to me (some in clinical trial phase) and starting chemotherapy would preclude me from those options. So we wait…

Even though it makes me anxious, as Aaron Burr sings in the musical Hamilton I’m willing to Wait for It. We will hold our fire for the pathology to come back before we start treatment. It is going to be at least a week and maybe more before we start but with this cancer its more important to aim before we shoot.

On a personal note, we had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family. I get tired in the afternoon and evening, so I usually rest or take a nap. I’m not sure how much of that is from the emotion; the cancer; or the post-election let down. Regardless, I’ve just been rolling with it. I try to use the mornings to get my “stuff” done — tracking down medical records, work, etc.

I’ve been reading The Boys in the Boat — Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It is a great story about teamwork, overcoming adversity, the depression and pre-WWII Germany. It’s an inspiring story. I admire people who are dealt a bad hand and persevere to get ahead; I appreciate teamwork (I could watch Hoosiers a hundred times); I enjoy “coming of age” books; and I respect the adversity the greatest generation had to overcome. I know very little about crew, but it really doesn’t matter. If you liked Seabiscuit you’ll love this story.