2018 was an emotional roller coaster of a year.  January began with me looking for a new job while on severance from my last job.  After interviewing with several local and large IT companies, I was truly impressed with engineering team and management at Sophos.  I received a written offer and accepted the job on Friday.  I got a phone call from my primary care physician on Sunday.  He asked if I wanted to hear serious news in the office with him or whether I wanted to receive it immediately, even if it meant over the phone.  I told him I’d prefer to learn it as soon as possible, how I receive news wasn’t as important.  He told me I had cancer, and that it was Stage 4.

I was admitted to the hospital the next day, and I spent the first couple weeks of February undergoing chemotherapy while at Virginia Hospital Center.  I had a mediport surgically implanted in my chest for IV chemo and fluids, which I still have in my chest nearly a year later.  For the next 4-5 months I underwent Maxidose R-CHOP Chemotherapy, also known as the Nordic Protocol.  I lost my hair a few days after beginning chemo.  I should have shaved my head before beginning chemo, but instead lost it in massive clumps while taking a shower. It felt like a scene out of a Stephen King movie, maybe “Carrie.”  I’d highly recommend that other cancer patients about to begin chemo avoid this unpleasant surprise by preparing themselves first, shaving their head if they know the chemo will likely cause it’s loss.

In July, I was declared to be in remission.  I was then offered to undergo a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) or to undergo Rituxan Therapy for the next three years.  Since BMT sounded invasive and painful, I opted for what I already knew and was undergoing: three years of Rituxan Therapy.

Two months later, my cancer returned.  My remission lasted less than three months.  I never expected to be cancer-free for the rest of my life, but I was at-least hoping for 3-5 years of healthy remission before undergoing this ordeal again.  In October, I began Imbruvica.  In November, I began Venclexta.  I’m now undergoing daily chemo of Imbruvica (560mg) and Venclexta (400mg) until I’m cleared for a bone marrow transplant.  An unrelated donor was identified in December after beginning the search in October.

I was hoping to go to Johns Hopkins this month to begin my Bone Marrow Transplant. but my latest full-body PET scans show continued tumors in my abdomen and groin.  So my chemo continues until I am cleared, with my Bone Marrow Transplant to hopefully begin in late February or March.

This past year has been a roller coaster of emotions, news, weight, hunger, chemo side-effects (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, lack-of-appetite/taste/hunger).  I have been VERY THANKFUL for the outpouring of support from our family & friends.  Our Facebook community of family, friends, and faithful has been supportive beyond words or imagination.  Wally’s Smile brought us hope and joyful tears when Vicky and I were at our lowest.  There are so many people I’d like to name and thank from the bottom of my heart for their love and support this year.

And my team of friends and co-workers at Sophos have been extraordinary.  I cannot thank Thomas, Paul, Patty, Andres, Louise, Amit, Mark, and Marcus enough.  I am grateful every day for the kindness, consideration, compassion, and support my co-workers have extended this past year.  They have gone above and beyond to support me and look out for me.

And so it goes… I still battle a terrible ordeal known as metastasized (Stage 4) Mantle Cell Lymphoma, but I am in the care of a terrific team of Oncologists at Kaiser-Permanente MidAtlantic and Johns Hopkins Medicine.  I truly hope and pray to overcome it, and emerge on the other side of it as a healthier and wiser individual…. and paying it forward to others also struggling with this dreadful disease. 💕✌

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