Changing Gears

So Jenny did what she is supposed to do and kept in contact with MSK to arrange for further testing since her back still hurts. But the doctor, after further review, is not very concerned that her back hurts.  He has decided to wait until Jenny's regularly scheduled testing on February.  Very frustrating....  But I guess this is a good thing.

Living Between the Quarters

Jenny as been going to the doctor every three months for follow up on her cancer remission.  I refer to this has living between the quarters.

She went yesterday to see her doctor at MMSK.  All the usual test came back normal.  But Jen has had some back pain over the last six weeks or so.  This concerns the doctor.  He is worries that the cancer may have spread to her bones.  Of course, this could just be plan old back pain.  The doctor advised to watch this very carefully.  And if there is no improvement within the next six weeks, Jenny will have to submit to more rigorous testing...

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Happy Spring and New Beginnings To You All

We Have Remission  (Written by Jennifer Marino.  Edit by Domenic Marino)

And in saying “we,” we are talking about not only Jen and the Marino family, but all those who helped us to get to this point. This includes Dr. Moskowitz and all the nurses, doctors and staff at Sloan Kettering. This also includes our supportive family, neighbors, friends, and co-workers.

Dom and Jen went into Sloan Kettering yesterday. It didn’t start off as the best day as it was the most traffic Jen has had yet on the commute. As she was driving and a truck would not let her in on a merge, she pulled off her scarf and just looked at the driver with her shining head has a beacon!  It worked! He let her in.

Jen was extremely nervous going into the appointment, as she had no idea what results to expect. She has had some sensitivity in her lymph nodes, swollen ankles, slight chest pressure, and a small cough (all explained later as normal for having a small cold the previous week).

After arriving late, she quickly had her blood tested, vitals and pulmonary function test. When Dr. Moskowitz came into the exam room, he said, “Well, you can tell everyone you are in remission.” Jen and Dom were thinking the same thing, but Dom asked sooner, “Is she?” The answer was yes.

Blood levels are not quite normal, but after a month of chemo are better than most people who have had this treatment. (Nurse Emily gave Jen an A on her blood results). Dr. Moskowitz only saw a little activity left on the thymus, but he sees this often after this chemo treatment and is not concerned.

Jen will next see Dr. Moskowitz for a check up in June. She will see him quarterly for the next few years. Jen will have another PET scan in early September and every six month after to make sure all stays well. 

The appointment ended with a big hug between Jen and Dr. Moskowitz, a big kiss and hug between Jen and Dom, a flood of tears, and lots of phone calls on the way home.

So, we have remission.  Your positive thoughts, prayers and kind communication have taught us the power of compassionate and sympathy.  Oh yeah, all the meals and gifts also helped!

Happy Spring and new beginnings to you all.

Positive Energy

Jen and I wanted everyone to know that she is going to have test on 02/28/11 but the results will not be know to us until Tuesday 03/08/11.
On the surface, this seems like a long time to wait.  Please know that the 03/08/11 appointment was made first.  We needed to schedule the tests for before this appointment.  Monday 02/28 was the closest date we could get to the 03/09 doctor appointment.  If not then, we would have had to wait till 03/11 for the tests. As you could imagine, we choose not to wait.

We again thank you all and ask that you continue your prayers and positive energy.

Where we are!

So Jen has moved into new territory.  She is finished with her normal treatment cycle which ended on Tuesday.  What I mean is, that on Tuesday she would normally start a round of chemo.  So for the last few days she has been tapering down on most of her medicines.  She is feeling a little better everyday.  This includes getting some of her taste buds back in play! 

Not much to say but this is where we are!

Positive Thoughts

So today we came into MSK NYC to review Jen’s situation.  All looks good.  No more chemo.  She is scheduled for a PET and CT scan on 02/28/11 at MSK in Basking Ridge.  That is followed a week later with a trip into MSK NYC to see Dr. Moskowitz and review the results.

Today’s blood test showed hemoglobin levels at 7.4.  So Jen is down a unit.  This is being given to her as I type this update.  She will wean off the steroids during the next 12 days but will continue most of her antibiotics and immune practices for the next month.

When we met with Dr. Moskowitz, he was very relaxed and although he could not give any real determination, there was a certain sense that the results will be good.  So, from now to then, please keep saying those prayers and sending positive thoughts!

A special thanks go out to the Robert Hunter Staff for their kind thoughts and gifts.  And thanks to all involved with the RH LLS fund raiser which kicked off this week.

Can’t Thank You Enough

Jen had her LAST chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday.  She and Al snuck it and out of NYC between the Snowy / Rainy/ Icey weather.  Although very excited about the last treatment, she was reminded that there is a little more to go.

First: the effects of the chemo will be as usual for the next week and the week after.  Her hemoglobin levels are a little low, so MSK has scheduled her for a transfusion next week.  This means another trip in to NYC

Jenny will need  to keep up her regime with food limitations and immunity precautions over the coming weeks.  She will be tapering off the steroids.  Jen has been told that her hair may start growing back in as little as three weeks. Right now she is completely bald (as smooth as a baby’s bottom), just this week shaving what few hairs were left so that it all grows in evenly. I told her I would shave when she did....   I am working up to it....  Might even get that tatoo I wanted up there!  So if I do not like it...well I will simply let my hair grow in!

Jen will have more tests done in 4-5 weeks. She will have blood work, a PET scan and a Pulmonary Function Test.  The doctor said there would be no radiation done with whatever may be left of the mediastinal tumor.  Research has shown radition is of no beneift after the BEACOPP treatment.  The tests that were done at 12 weeks (the ½ point) are very indicative of progress.  Based on the November’s tests, he is expecting good results anyway.

Jenny's energy levels will take 6 months to a year to recover.  A year’s time will establish the baseline for her energy.  she was given no guidelines, other than to listen to her body and do what she can.  As for immunity, the doctor said she is always going to be prone to upper respiratory infections.

Although February may be a short month on the calender, it is still a long month for us.  But we are all very excited about Jen’s last chemo. We all couldn’t have done this without the support of everyone. We just can’t thank you enough.

For those of you that are still following this, you can tell that the commentary is coming less frequently.  This not because of lack of interest on our part.  Rather it seems to us that it is now just more of the same old stuff.

Jenny started her last set of treatments today which run a little over a week.  After that no more chemo!  She will need to get some follow up testing for blood work and the like.  The real important test will be in 5 weeks or so when she will have another PET scan.  This test will tell us if she has beat this thing or not.  So, we should know for sure whats what in 8 weeks or so.

In the mean time, here is a site which helps to explain Hodgkin Lymphoma, treatments, etc.

http://www.medicinenet.com/hodgkins_disease/article.htm
We hope you are all well and taking care of each other.  Thanks you all again for your love and support!

How Things Turn Out Sometimes

Today was a different day for us.  Jenny was very emotional.  She wanted to put the Christmas ornaments away and was very concerned that all the boxes were labeled correctly explaining, “In case I am not here next year I do not want you mad at me.”

Now, personally I think this is a bunch of nonsense.  Of course she will be around.  I refuse to think otherwise.  Fortunately, she calmed down and she and Katie were able to start the process of putting all the Christmas stuff away.  I helped in my chosen areas of expertise (moving heavy boxes).

Later in the day she was “helping” me shave my hair and oopsie, she cut it to short!  Well no choice now, we had to cut all my hair to the same length.  Guess what!  It looks great.  Jen was so pleased with it that she decided to buzz her thin hair back to a similar length.  So I cut her hair.  And it looks great too! Just goes to show that you really do not know how things will turn out sometimes.

Kicking Its Ass

Jenny has begun her second to last round of treatments this past Tuesday.  She now has 4 weeks to go consisting of 3 more weeks of treatment with a week break in between.

This has been a difficult journey but it is amazing how quickly you adapt to any situation.  This can be seen at the macro level by looking at the frequency of my blog postings.  At the beginning of this journey, I was posting almost every day.  Now, I barely get a posting in once a week!

There is nothing really new to report.  We have all learned to live with the process of eradicating this cancer.  Jenny has been and is still being strong through this event.  Though at times frustrating to both of us, she pushed on.  I am very proud of her.  As I had said in the beginning, she is kickingits ass.

Happy New Year

Several years back, we had a valve break in our upstairs bathroom which resulted in very serious water damage to our kitchen and den.  This happen in September.  When New Years Eve came around the down stairs was a torn out.  So, what else to do but have the neighborhood New Years Eve party at our house!  Since everything was ripped out, there was no worry of the party causing any real damage!  This party stuck for most years thereafter.

Because of Jen’s situation, it was not possible to have the party at our house this year.  Our neighbors down the road, Bob and Brenda had a small “gathering” and they invited us.  We had a wonderful time.  Jenny made up till 1:00am.  Of course the nap we took that afternoon did not hurt.   

Jenny and I are looking forward to 2011.  We are hoping that 2011 is a better year then 2010.  And so we look forward to seeing you in the coming year and wish you all a Happy New Year!