Answers

Today, Friday January 22, we finally got the results! That was the longest most grueling week of my life. We walked in at 9:00 am for our appointment with Dr. George Bascom at Heartland Hematology and Oncology in Kearney, Nebraska. As my mom, sister, mother-in-law, Chase and I sat in the waiting room; we could hardly wait to be seen. They finally took us back to get Chase’s vitals and get him in a room. Within a few minutes Dr. Bascom came in to talk with all five of us.

As he walked in he introduced himself and before he could even sit down he said, “Chase, you have Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma”. I knew it was bad but I was ready for details. All I can remember is that he wanted so many details about how Chase was feeling. He kept asking Chase so much about his symptoms. He was really digging into details about his back and his breathing, as well as all the itching he had. This was so hard to get through, all I could think about was, “Forget about all this! Tell me about his diagnosis!!!” After a thorough physical, feeling around on Chase’s body, he stepped out of the room to gather his thoughts before explaining to us the details of his diagnosis.

Finally he came back in the room. He handed me the report of the biopsy. Gary Keeney, M.D. at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, reviewed his case. He explained the medical verbiage to us. Chase has stage 4 B Classical Hodgkin’s disease involving the bone (L1- first lumbar and T9-9^th thoracic vertebral bodies) as well as in his lungs (multiple pulmonary nodes) and multiple lymph node areas on both sides of his diaphragm. So in summary, he has lymphoma in his lymph nodes, bones and lungs. He also explained that it is starting to spread to the pericardial fluid around his heart.

He explained to us that this disease is very treatable. He told us there is a 90% chance Chase could be cancer free come the end of treatment. He said he loves to work with lymphoma patients because he tends to see the best results and the treatment responds quickly; that made us feel very at ease. Speaking of treatment, obviously the goal is a cure. We plan to do chemotherapy. The type and administration of chemo will all depend on how the echocardiogram and pulmonary function test go since chemo takes such a toll on the heart. We need to test to see the strength of his heart before we make a decision on the type of chemo.

Dr. Bascom has been an oncologist for 32 years. He worked with Brian (Chase’s dad) and Marion (Chase’s paternal grandma) when they had cancer. I loved his interaction with us about them. He remembered them and their exact cases even after all these years. I loved that but, for some reason, I still don’t feel at ease. I asked Bascom how often he deals with lymphoma patients and he acted like he rarely did. Since he is a general oncologist, he said he works mainly with breast, prostate and lung cancer. We know we would feel more comfortable with a lymphoma specialist. Dr. Bascom seemed to be very understanding of that and he had all his notes and the results sent over to Dr. Julie Voss at UNMC in Omaha. She is a lymphoma specialist that we have been seeking appointments with and had heavy interest in visiting for treatment options.

Right now things are still up in the air because there are still have so many tests to be done. We need a PET scan, an echocardiogram and a pulmonary function test. We made sure to get flu shots today and Chase also got a Pneumonia shot as well as extensive blood work. They will be calling us Monday with the scheduled scans. Right now the slides from the biopsy are being sent to Dr. Julie Voss at UNMC, as well as all of Chase’s records, for further testing and a second opinion on treatment options.

Currently, our appointment is with Dr. Voss is not until February 18. Although, once they test the biopsy themselves and see how serious his case is, they promised to move Chase’s case up as soon as possible.

             It has been a long day and I am ready to get some sleep. I hope I didn’t forget anything. We appreciate all the love and prayers. Sorry if I haven’t gotten back to your kind messages, I really appreciate all the kind thoughts, I just feel like I haven’t had a free moment to really respond. This has been quite a roller coaster. We love all our family and friends and appreciate the support and care!

Xoxo,

Chase and Danielle Eilers