going public about Lymphoma

Four weeks ago tomorrow, my left ankle swelled to the size of a softball, with no pain or other symptoms. I'd spent the day cleaning my pool, painting the front door, and other such Saturday tasks, and decided to mow the front lawn before it got dark. I noticed my ankle for the first time when I sat down to put on socks and shoes.

Two weeks ago today, I went to see my doctor for the third time. By now, the swelling was all the way up my left leg but still without any other symptoms of illness - no fever, no weight loss - only a rash on the back of the leg. She'd theorized it was an infection, or a blood clot, or shingles. She sent me back over to the imaging center to recheck for a blood clot and ordered a cat scan of my abdomen. When she saw the bigger picture, she put me in the hospital to be seen by specialists and be prepared for a biopsy.

A mass behind the kidney suggested Lymphoma or kidney cancer, the former being preferable if you have a choice. After more testing, probing and scanning, the verdict came in: Lymphoma. Large B-cell Lymphoma, to be more specific, which is treatable.

The oncologist who saw me at the hospital prescribed chemo treatment, and I've already undergone the first one. I suffered none of the dreaded side effects of chemo but they tell me I will lose my hair, or what's left of it. After watching it go slowly for about 40 years, I can deal with that!

Why am I telling you all this? Mainly, to raise your awareness of Lymphoma, a strange disease. The disease can be asymptomatic or the symptoms can be very subtle, such as a swelling of lymph nodes. Seeing your doctor is very important if you feel little lumps in your neck, under your armpit, or other places where there usually are no lumps. The symptoms are often associated with other diseases. There are no identified causes. The disease strikes people of all ages. There are many varieties of Lymphoma, and treatments vary according to type. I'm being given a treatment that has come into wide use in the past two years with very good results.

The lymph system itself is a mystery to most people. You can visualize a heart or a stomach, but the lymph system sounds like one of the "humors" that medieval physicians believed existed in the body. It runs through the body and performs a variety of necessary jobs like sending armies of white cells out to fight infection.

Because the lymph system runs throughout the body, surgery is not a treatment option. Chemo treatments are. I may go into more detail on that later, but that's all for now. I might add that my left leg is still swollen and may not get back to normal for another couple of weeks, which is painful enough without also keeping me from getting into my new Corvette without crawling across the driveway and up under the steering wheel. As kids used to say, bummer!