Scanxiety

...of a clean scan! Worry is useless, yet we still do it. It is always about the future, which we may never possess. It is always negative, which affects those around us. Notice that leaving the appointment after a clean scan, we are already preoccupied with the next one? As we become more near-sighted, our worry becomes more far-sighted! Realisitically, isn't this irrational on our parts? A productive cough is a clear sign of allergies or infection. Let us ponder the worst case scenario: You have fought this already and are an experienced warrior. Do you want to fight again? No! But, like a soldier, you can fight if called upon.

Consider: Your greatest danger is driving to and from the scan! Live today - which is why a gift is called the present.

dana-mihaela said:

Hi po18guy

I don't know your real name but I read your story and I have to say that I am totally IMPRESSED by your knowledge and your survival against all odds. I think I need an appointment 101 with you to give me some of your courage and commun sense that you have. I am one of the worst worriors of all times in the fact that I suffered with anxiety and OCD for all my live. The fact that I got lymphoma is probably set up by my negative thoughts and fears if you are to believe in this. I am the type of person that if I have a headache I got brain tumor so you know my type already. I am having very bad anxiety issues now after the cancer and I just wanted to let you know that I always enjoy your posts and admit that you are so very right in what you say. Each day is a present and the future actually nobody has it for sure.

Good luck,

Dana

You are very kind. I am not Superman - I have received tons of spiritual and physical help. As to worry: Get a spiral bound notebook and keep it with you. Each time something worries you, write it down. Once per week - more if needed - go back through it and cross off those worries that never came to pass. That would most likely be all of them, since worry is not exactly a rational activity, right? After several weeks of noticing this pattern, it may provide some perspective, if not comfort. At some point, you may worry less just to avoid writer's cramp!

Congratulations on your lymphoma-free scan!! What great news. How sweet for your nurse to call and let you know before the weekend.

Cheers,

Rocquie

5 weeks out from my last round of R-EPOCH for DLBCL and had my first PET scan (skull-to-thigh) this AM.  2.5 hrs after getting home, message from my doc with the radiologist's result:  "There is no abnormal FDG avid lesion to suggest metabolically active residual disease by this examination technique".  Very happy with this result and grateful to my doc for taking the time to forward it.  

Now, if I could only do something about this miserable fatigue...

So glad to hear the scan is clear! I just finished my last Chemo July 3. Now I am like you ready to get rid of the fatigue. I know Max is right it will take a while and some never get back to full strength. However, I am going to do the best I can and plan on getting there over time. My Oncologist says 6-8 weeks I will be feeling better and 6 months to a year to get to my expected new normal.  I am hoping then to be close to my old normal.

Keep us posted on how yoUr progress! Very excited for you.

Sandy Ray

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 said:

Thoughtful

It was thoughtful of your doctor to make that call, Evarista.

Heavy fatigue can linger after long-term chemo for a long time.  Do not anticipate springing back to your pre-cancerous energy levels any time soon, if ever.  I have never recovvered my energy after Stage III HL , Stage II Prostate Cancer, and having been run over by a car decades ago.  I guess me being fatigued is reasonable, at 61 now. 

Eat lite, healthy stuff:  salads, vegtables.   I take a Super-B complex multivitamin daily, which helps me a lot with energy; the main ingredient is B-12, which is the main ingredient in many "energy drinks."  Because B-vitamins are water soluble, there is no fear of getting "too much" in a daily supplement.

max

 

Last year I was frustrated with the constant fatigue. I asked my primary DR if hse thought it would be ok to start taking extra B-12and B-6. She gave me the go-ahead. Within about 2 or 3 weeks I felt a lot better. Earlier this year I decided to stop taking them. One reason I had run out and didn't have time to get more. Since I still felt ok I didn't buy any more. Lately I've been dragging again and thought it was because of teh extra hours I've been putting in at work. Then it dawned on me about the B-12 & B-6. I have added that back into my pill case and hopefully I will be better in a couple of weeks. 

For anyone with fatigue ask your Dr (primary and/or onc) first.