Trying not to worry just yet....

He has been added again to my prayers for his continued strength in beating this, he is a strong young man with a good attitude and will get thru this.
 
ronn47 said:
He has been added again to my prayers for his continued strength in beating this, he is a strong young man with a good attitude and will get thru this.
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His attitude remains positive. He's planning to to keep up physical training as much as possible. I also told him to check out Live Strong at the Y too.

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Prayers that your son will come through.
my wife was on imuran and Humira and that was a disaster, hopefully your son is not on imuran.
 
12151791 said:
Prayers that your son will come through.
my wife was on imuran and Humira and that was a disaster, hopefully your son is not on imuran.
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He has been in humira for 5 years. It was the first drug that knocked his Crohns to remission. Before that, his doctor started mentioning surgery. He had the worst case his doctor had ever seen in someone his age.
After Chemo is done, it will be time to find another Crohns treatment that works for him.

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fishgutzy said:
It is Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is the type associated with Humira. So the treatment that worked for Crohns may be the cause of his cancer. It is a very low occurrence for humira users.
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That just plain sucks. I remember you saying something about it being the worst case of Crohns‘s his doctor has ever seen. He’s too young to experience this sort of shit, no pun intended. Somehow, though, I think things will work out for him. He’s overcome a lot of adversity, too much to to not make it past this. In any case, we are all rooting for him.
 
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He has "chemo school" today.
Echo and another COVID test tomorrow. Pulmonary function Friday. These are to test his heart and lungs for possible issues. Some of the treatment can effect heart and lungs. I'd say that despite being anemic, he's been able to push hard in the weight room. So he's done a good job countering some of the symptoms he has had already. Yet he will still be getting an iron infusion too. That's how low his iron got.
 
Just saw these updates, Fishy. Sorry to hear of the test results, etc. More prayers & well wishes for successful treatment and finding a new & effective Crohn's treatment.
 
One of my former colleagues reached out on LinkedIn and said he'd connect my son with his for a possible WFH sale opportunity. Not a scam either. That was pretty cool. I try to avoid posting much personal on LinkedIn but this time I figured it was worth it. After all, Unemployment requires him to apply for 3 jobs a week and keep proof of each one for 5 years. I told him to include in every application his cancer treatment status because most will reject his application just for that. But the right employer, might not.

On the home front, the anti-nausea meds that are in the chemo drug cocktail are starting to wear off today. A few days a hell warmed over before he has a break.
He really does deserve a break.
He's been dealing with one medical issue after another since he was 15. First was a Varicocele. Anyone that has dealt with this knows how uncomfortable that is.
He's had several good years before this saga where he found his stride in sales, found a sweet little lady ( a foot shorter than he is) and was getting settled in.
Fingers crossed that the connection with my former colleagues leades to his next big step in sales. Not even gonna consider the 8% possible track.
 
Esteban has his second chemo tomorrow.
Doctor cleared him for weight training so he had been hitting hard this last week.
It has definitely helped with his energy level.
It will likely get harder to keep up that level of exercise as chemo progresses. But I would be done with people thinking he's faking it. [emoji6][emoji16]
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3rd chemo treatment plus iron infusion on Monday. He said this one humbled him a little. His oncologist back down the anti-nausea meds in the cocktail due to weight gain. This med causes sugar cravings. He'll lose the little bit quickly again. He was back at the gym yesterday. Rest day today.
His doc said he's her only patient to still have hair at this point. Strong hair genes. :D
 
My son did what his oncologist told him not to do. He looked at the report from the PET CT he had last week.
He was supposed to wait until she reviewed the report with him tomorrow.
He stopped at "scary phrases. "
Said phrases? "Intense metabolic activity in the neck area and lungs."
That can mean many things.
Google Fu doesn't help.
Just gotta wait until tomorrow.

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fishgutzy said:
My son did what his oncologist told him not to do. He looked at the report from the PET CT he had last week.
He was supposed to wait until she reviewed the report with him tomorrow.
He stopped at "scary phrases. "
Said phrases? "Intense metabolic activity in the neck area and lungs."
That can mean many things.
Google Fu doesn't help.
Just gotta wait until tomorrow.

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Not knowing is HARD. Knowing enough to scare & worry about can be even harder.

Still praying for you guys.
 
Great news for Esteban today.
Dr. G. told him he is on track to be cancer free by February. One lymph node is back to completely normal.

Text from Esteban.
Complete response on one tumor (meaning the lymph node is back to normal size), and reduction in size on all others

And the "intense metabolic activity", which can sometimes indicate cancer, in his case was due to the intensity of his workout the day before. Ha!
The lit up areas were in his muscles.
His doctor also said when they reinstate the cancer patient fitness program, she is going to push for him to have a leadership role in the program.
She is also going to talk to the Greensboro YMCA group to recomend him to work with their Live Strong program for cancer patients.

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Esteban sent this follow up text.
"I forgot to tell you, dr Gorsuch said the intense metabolic activity just meant I had lots of muscle activity. The radiologist at first was like wtf was that, but Gorsuch said she told him I just love the gym lol"

Got laugh a little when even the radiologist says WTF.

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3rd round down. One to go. Then radiation.
The cumulative effect is starting to drag.
But despite feeling roughed up, he got himself to the gym the next day. He pushed through because he feels better after a workout.

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Turns out that Hodgkin's lymphoma occurs in this with Crohns at a substantially higher rate than the general population due to the inflammation that Crohns causes.
Rate of recurrence is also higher. And that's why he chose radiation over 2 more rounds of chemo.
Alive and taking testosterone shots is better than increased odds of recurrence.

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He started the new year with the end of his 4th round. 2 more to go. 2 treatments per cycle. Maybe they use different drugs in each treatment in the cycle. I'm not a doctor. Nor do I play one in TV.
Only positive news on his reports too.
He's still hitting the gym hard every day that he can. Still gaining muscle. That's no small task during chemo.

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Sandman_NC said:
I just caught up with all the updates…. Where have I been?!

Praying for a full hulk like recovery! Keep hitting the gym Esteban! :)
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He's actually trying to get with a body building coach too. Get more focused.
He's also planning to get certified as a personal trainer. I think he'd be better able to convince cancer patients to workout than a doctor would simply because he's been through it. And he's a natural salesman. [emoji6][emoji3]

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Today, Esteban rings the bell after his last chemo session. Only the follow up PET scan left.
They'll keep the port in for a year while they monitor things to make sure it is done.
This picture is from a couple days ago.
He's looking forward to how he gains muscle without being on chemo.
He still doesn't look like he in a cancer patient. :D
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That is awesome!
 
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