Cancer hopes it doesn't get this woman

There are literally hundreds of people keeping me alive (which is nice), and I'm certain I won't name them all, but everyone adores Jenny, so here she is. Jenny is my special lady, and suddenly my live-in nurse, a role she is, by all indications, loving. All of the sudden I am medically required to listen to her when she orders me to generally stop behaving like an ass. Giving up my ability to be an idiot is something I'm not used to, but Jenny seems pretty comfortable with it. If the cutting-edge biotechnology I'm consuming liters of doesn't kill the cancer, I'm confident Jenny will with pure sass.

I can't remember if we had the diagnosis yet or not when we took this picture, but you can kinda see my lovely lumpiness in it. How adorable.

[Update: Jenny has since pointed out that the date of 1/21/06 printed on the photo should give a clear indication that this was taken exactly 10 days before my diagnosis. Thankyou very much Ms. Smartypants.]

Jenny has been keeping most of our friends and family updated with her epic emails, which are highly informative and excellently written, so I'm going to copy two of them here. They cover most our bases.

Here's the first, which she sent to friends and family on my birthday:

Dear Friends and Family-

First off, thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers and well-wishes. You have no idea how much your support means to Tim (and me). I apologize in advance for the mass email, but we we wanted to get information to each of you quickly, and this seemed the best way.

We just got back from Tim's first Oncologist appointment, and it went very well. Tim has been diagnosed with "diffuse large cell lymphoma," a very common and treatable/curable type of lymphoma, and is believed to be a Stage 2. The doctor believes the cancer is localized to the lymph glands in the neck, but because lymphoma by definition is a systemic disease, they need to run some additional tests be be sure it hasn't spread. Tim will have the same treatment (chemotherapy) regardless of staging-- although if it's found to be a Stage 3 or 4, his treatment will occur more frequently and continue over a longer period of time, but consist of the same drugs. At this point, we expect him to start his treatments within 7-10 days, and the whole process should take about 3-5 months. He's almost definitely going to lose his hair, so he's happy to shave anyone's head who wants to do so in a sign of solidarity. (Hat shopping, anyone?) He likes and trusts his doctors so far, which is a great thing. We had a lot of questions, and the doctor took the time to answer each one, so we feel he's in very good hands. Tim is extremely positive after meeting with the doctor, and is looking forward to getting treatment and being healthy again by summer time.

Since I know most of you have been scouring the Internet for information over the past few days, I wanted to share a few sites with you this time that may help you to learn more about this disease.
Lymphoma Research Foundation: www.lymphoma.org/
Lymphoma Information Network: www.lymphomainfo.net/
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/
Lymphoma.com: www.lymphoma.com/

Thank you again for your love, support and concern. If you have any further questions about his diagnosis, treatment, etc. feel free to ask. I'll also keep you posted as his treatment progresses.

On a side note-- Today is Tim's 27th birthday! Here's to a happy and healthy year :)

Much love,
Jenny and Tim

I told you they were epic. Here's the second, which she sent to coworkers last week. Most of it is repetitive, but still entertaining (I think):

Dear friends-

As you're all now aware, Tim has recently received some bad news: he has cancer. K indicated in a chat with me yesterday that some of you might be feeling starved for more information, so here is the full scoop, whether you want it or not! We apologize in advance for not getting detailed information to you sooner, but after numerous tests and doctor appointments, he finally has a definite diagnosis, an excellent prognosis, and some information he asked me to share with you. But before I get into that, he wanted me to let you all know how much he appreciates your thoughts and prayers and well-wishes. So please keep them coming!


Diagnosis: Tim has been diagnosed with "diffuse large B-cell lymphoma," a very common and treatable/curable type of lymphoma, and is believed to be a Stage 2. (Cancer stages indicate the severity of the disease, on a scale from 1 (least severe) to 5 (bad news)). At this time, the doctors believe the cancer is localized to the lymph nodes in his neck, but because lymphoma by definition is a systemic disease, they will need to run one more test (a PET-CT scan, which he will have this Friday, 2/10) which will assist the doctors in determining whether the cancer has spread, and where it might have spread to. This will confirm staging, and will also be useful to the doctors if radiation therapy is determined to be necessary.


Treatment: Tim's lymphoma is an "aggressive" form of cancer, which means the cancer cells are dividing and spreading quickly, and will require immediate treatment. The good news is that in most cases, aggressive cancers respond better to treatment because the drugs used to treat cancer target fast-growing and rapidly dividing cells. So the faster the cells turn over, the better the drugs can work. Tim will have the same treatment (chemotherapy) regardless of staging--although if it's found to be a Stage 3 or 4, his treatment will occur more frequently and continue over a longer period of time, but consist of the same drugs. (If you're interested in the list of drugs, let me know.) Radiation therapy may also be given after the conclusion of chemotherapy, although at this point the doctors aren't sure whether radiation is necessary.


Symptoms and Side Effects: Tim has very few symptoms at this time, although the tumor in his tonsil has ulcerated and is causing severe pain. (When Tim asked "is there anything I can do to treat this tonsil?" the doctor responded "Chemo!" - and gave him a prescription for codeine.) The tumor in his neck is also large enough that he can't button the collar of his dress shirts. (Nice excuse Tim- and we all just thought he was sloppy!) There are many potential side-effects of chemotherapy (the list is long and details are gory), and in Tim's case it is likely that the side-effects of treatment will be more severe than the symptoms of his cancer. He will also soon be completely bald, and has been amusing himself trying to see how many people he can guilt into shaving their heads in solidarity. (So far Josh is the only sucker. J, S? A? Any takers??)


Schedule: Chemotherapy will begin next week (Monday, Feb. 13) and will continue over the course of 3-5 months. Administering one round of chemo takes an entire day, and the doctors recommend that patients stay home and rest on the day following chemotherapy- so at a minimum, Tim expects to be away from the office at least 2 days out of every two to three week period. There will also be follow-up appointments and likely some sick days in that time as well.


Chemotherapy is also very devastating to the immune system- the cells that assist in immunity are fast-dividing cells, and the drugs don't know the difference between healthy and abnormal fast-growing, rapidly dividing cells. This means that Tim will be very prone to illness and infections, and has been given strict guidelines about things and people he can't be exposed to. Some of these things and people include: certain foods, public transportation, crowded spaces (e.g. grocery stores, shopping malls), pets, small children, babies (especially those that have recently received immunizations, e.g. [wee J]!), airplane travel, people who have recently traveled by air (e.g. constituents from California), and anyone with a cold or flu. Tim is committed to continuing to work throughout his treatment, and will be utilizing the DC staff laptop when he needs to work from home. On days that he is able to come to the office, please don't sneeze on him :) And WASH YOUR HANDS!!


Finally, the Cancer Center where Tim will be receiving chemotherapy has strict rules about the use of wireless and electronic devices, since they can interfere with the Center's equipment and also be a nuisance to the other patients. This may mean that Tim is totally inaccessible on days he receives chemotherapy. Please keep this in mind when preparing back-up for A, or when dealing with emergencies as they arise.


Tim's state of mind: He's extremely positive! Seriously. He really likes and trusts his doctors, and is eager to begin treatment so he can make a full recovery by summertime. He may have some bad days now and then, so please don't hesitate to drop him an email if you feel like it. They'll help keep his spirits sky high.


Learn more: Here are a few Internet sites that may help you to learn more about this disease.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/
Lymphoma Information Network: www.lymphomainfo.net/
Lymphoma Research Foundation: www.lymphoma.org/
Lymphoma.com: www.lymphoma.com/

If you have any further questions about his diagnosis, treatment, etc. feel free to ask. I'll also keep you posted as his treatment progresses.


On a side note-- Tim's 27th birthday was on Thursday, February 2nd! Here's to a happy and healthy year :)

Jenny and Tim

There you have it, and yes, I edited a few names. I don't know the rules for publishing people's names, the ones you see are friends who I think won't mind, but if they do, oh well, I have cancer. How mad can they get.