all tests clear

All of my 6 month tests and scans came back and are clean, clear, & free from any and all signs of cancer! I also received back results from my skin biopsy done this past Monday, and the symptoms I've been experiencing are NOT graft vs. host disease. It is now assumed that they must be some sort of medication allergy reaction or interaction. Those symptoms are beginning to subside, as are some of the symptoms of this awful cold I've had for the better part of a week already. I am hoping and praying that a rainy weekend of more rest and fluids will help bring this chapter to a close. Thanks for checking in, and continuing to pray. Dad, Kevin, Brian, & Jenn are on their way to Penn State for the Illinois game tomorrow night, hoping for the rain to hold off...Go Lions!

Monday happenings

A long day after a long weekend. I began having severe itching and a spreading rash at the end of next week. Over the weekend, the rash began drying and peeling, leading the docs to wonder whether the cause was a drug allergy/interaction or the start of graft-vs.-host-disease. I had a skin biopsy today that should rule in or out GVHD - results will hopefully be available Friday. I also visited the local oncologist, who wasn't as concerned as I was about it all, and said I did not need to be admitted, for which I thankful, although a bit surprised. I also had a chest xray today, since my cough has gotten worse since last week.
I hope & pray that the results of all of last week's tests, as well as the biopsy today, will be available by Friday morning, when I see the dr. at Dartmouth. Pray that I will also have enough energy and relief from pain & itching to make the flight over & back on Friday. As such, I will laying low at home this week, trying to make sure I'm rested enough to make the trip on Friday.

Friday night at home

It's been a while since I blogged, so I thought I'd give an update while I'm thinking about it. I rescheduled all of my 6 month checkups and scans from the day of Mom's funeral to this past Mon. 9/15 and Tue. 9/16. I won't get any results until next Fri. 9/26, when I will travel down for an appointment with Dr. Hill to get the results and map out the frequency of my future visits. All the tests went off OK, although I do have a rash that seems to have developed either from drug interactions or as a first sign of graft-vs-host disease. Obviously, I hope its the former, rather than the latter. I will be having a skin biopsy done in Brunswick on Mon. afternoon. Please continue to keep these matters in prayer, as well as Dad, Brian & Jenn, Kevin, and Lisa & I as we continue to grieve & process Mom's passing away.