After this second recurrence of Stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma, my weight is down to 161.8 lbs as of this morning.
Thankfully, the last few weeks of targeted radiation therapy and daily chemotherapy have lessened my lymphedema. My left leg is still very swollen, but at least I’m mobile now without being in pain. Walking much more than a few blocks or 3 flights of stairs is still enough to tire me out and cause me pain.
I’m getting blood draws every 3 days to monitor my ANC, WBC, Platelets, and CBC Differential. I’m still highly immunocompromised, so I’ll need to wear the N95 filter for the entire day-of-travel and medical flight to Seattle in a couple of weeks.
Love you Ken. Hang in there.
So my abdominal cramps and diarrhea this week are likely to be radiation scarring of my colon as my epithelial cells slough off. Our primary care physician consulted with ID and GI, and they reviewed my radiation oncology records. The loop of my lower colon was in the radiation field of my ten targeted radiation sessions aimed at my inguinal lymph nodes and lower abdominal lymph nodes.
So, while it *might* be graft-vs-host-disease or could become so later, it’s just as likely if not more so that my colon is shedding itself as it tries to recover from radiation burns.
I had multiple blood tests and stool samples to confirm or determine which of these hypotheses are true.