Sunday 15 April 2007

Tale of the tape

For any fellow sufferers out there who don't want to wade through the blurb to see how this all started and what the time scale was between diagnosis and cure etc. Here's a fairly accurate timeline of events.......................

Nov '06 to Apr '07 - Gained 19lbs (8.6kgs) of lard - doh!!

September 2006 - Noticed small lump on left side of neck
September to December 2006 - Felt more tired than usual (if that's possible!!)
5/12/06 - Went to see doctor about lump on neck, also found small lumps just below left collar bone.
07/12/06 - Full blood test and chest X-ray
08/12/06 - Surgeon confirmed swollen lymph nodes in neck and suspect groin
14/12/06 - Check up with E, N&T consultant - needle biopsy on neck lump
20/12/06 - Officially on sick from work
21/12/06 - Result of needle biopsy, not enough material gathered to give meaningful result, lump requires full biopsy.
27/12/06 - Neck lump removed under general anaesthetic
04/01/07 - Diagnosed Hodgkin's disease
10/01/07 - Admitted to hospital to begin staging tests - Heart scan, ECG, lung function, bone marrow.
11/01/07 - CT scan
17/01/07 - Full staged diagnosis - Hodgkin's Type 2B - nodular sclerosing - Small tumours in neck and between lungs (1.5cm). Later downgraded to type 2A
18/01/07 - First of six fortnightly infusions of ABVD chemotherapy
27/03/07 - CT scan
29/03/07 - Last ABVD infusion
04/04/07 - PET scan
12/04/07 - All clear
17/04/07 - Pre-radiotherapy CT scan and mask fitting
23/04/07 - Commence 3 weeks radiotherapy
11/05/07 - Radiotherapy complete - Large bald patch on back of head - Officially in remission?
June/July '07 - Back to work?

3 comments:

Chris said...

Daz
Your are obviously chuffed with the news and rightly so. Your blog has helped me during my roller coaster ride with HL and for that a HUGE thanks. Know that Vicky feels the same.
Keep up the blog, its a real inspiration for new sufferers and is accurate and humorous. Good luck with the Radiation treatment and your forthcoming house move.

Chris

Don H said...

Great news Daz!
Looking forward to getting my cabin back - been a north sea gypsy since you've been off!

Francis said...

Hi there - I've just come across this blog while browsing through the site randomly. Your bravery is really inspiring and I'll be praying for you.