TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th, 2019

So Chris received some encouraging news today.

Yesterday, Chris had a stat LP to check his CSF for lymphoma and also deliver a dose of intrathecal chemotherapy.  Additionally, he also had a stat CT scan to check for more areas of lymphoma because of his increased left abdominal, left hip, and left knee pain.

Today, Dr. Shah came to see us during Chris's chemo and shared with us that his CSF was negative for lymphoma. Additionally, Chris's CT scan showed that the lymphoma in the abdominal area actually appeared necrotic from the radiation and was shrinking in size.  While Chris does have a few small areas of lymphoma in his left abdominal area, it would appear that his pain was actually the result of a large area of inflammation in that region; likely, a result of the radiation Chris received.  Chris was started on dexamethasone (a steroid) yesterday to help with the inflammation and has experienced very minimal pain since taking it.

Unfortunately, Chris will not be able to be drawn for apheresis until at least next week.  While this feels long, Dr. Shah was very encouraged by Chris's LP and CT results and feels that keeping Chris's lymphoma stable in the meantime is doable. 

Lastly, Dr. Shah cannot give a great explanation for Chris's confusion.  He said maybe the spot of lymphoma on the dura of his brain, but because it is not in his brain, he didn't think it was the likely cause.  It sounds like it might just be the beginning affects of "chemo brain". While Chris is still getting intermittent "fogginess", his episodes are not nearly as bad as the first time it happened.

All in all, we are feeling a little better tonight.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that things continue to trend upward.

Thanks for all the love and support.

V

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