Stage IV-B is pretty advanced, but true to his word, the "B" symptoms resolved themselves almost overnight. No more chronic coughing, night sweats, pelvic pains, extreme fatigue, and general flu-like misery. Gone!
After 2 "cycles" (4 treatments over approx 2 months) I was feeling almost 'normal' during those fleeting few "good days" at the end of the cycle. I actually became interested in doing things, and started catching up on yard work, auto maintenance, and some of the other things that have fallen thru the cracks...
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And modern medical imagining is an amazing technology. Yes the patient is subjected to oral and injected dyes, radioactive tracers, and positron emissions, but the pictures tell the story…
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| Hodgkins lymphoma Stage IVB - Mar 23, 2015 Imaging following 2 treatment cycles |
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Hodgkins lymphoma Stage IVB - Jan 14, 2015
Pre-treatment imaging |
According to the medical report, "Hypermetabolic activity" is "resolved." So the treatment is effectively halting the cancer that was slowly sucking the life out of me.
ABVD is a standard treatment for Hodgkins disease, first introduced in 1974. One cycle of ABVD chemotherapy is typically given over 4 weeks, with two doses in each cycle (on day 1 and day 15). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABVD
April 9 was the sixth treatment, the halfway point in the prescribed 6 full cycles.
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