Biopsy Results

We've had a few roller coaster days. Yesterday, Adrienne's oncologist called to say that the bone biopsy showed no Hodgkin's Disease and that they weren't sure what was going on. They were going to have additional pathologists look at it. We were hopeful that this was something fairly benign. He called today to say that it is Hodgkin's Disease. Apparently, the guru of lymphoma pathology looked at it this morning and confirmed the diagnosis. Obviously, this is not what we wanted to hear. Everyone was sure this was not Hodgkin's Disease because no one has seen it isolated in the bone without widespread disease in the lymph nodes, but Adrienne's case is obviously quite different than most. We keep treating this insidious disease and it seems to find a new place to grow.

We aren't sure what the next step is. The doctor is checking into radiation, which seems to be a good option. Adrienne has never had radiation to this particular area and there are no critical structures except for the hip joint itself, which they can shield. It means daily trips to the hospital again for a few weeks but at least she isn't in school having to juggle so many things. Once again, we need to look into clinical trials.

Adding to all this, Adrienne has bronchitis and pink eye, so she feels pretty miserable. The hip pain from the surgery is mostly gone, replaced by the old hip pain. As usual, she's a trooper and we are still planning to go to Spain in July. We've rearranged our lives so many times and we just don't want to do it unless it is absolutely necessary.

UPDATE: It turns out that this week is the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Atlanta where 20,000 oncologists are gathering. Therefore, getting ahold of anyone is a challenge. Adrienne's radiation oncologist is supposed to be back on Friday so I will call today to see if we can get an appointment.

Despite everyone's shock that Adrienne has Hodgkin's in the pelvis bone, the diagnosis is confirmed. They'll probably publish an article about it since this is so unusual. I had a long talk with Adrienne's oncologist last night and he told me that there are quite a few people who live with Hodgkin's Disease for many, many years. We have been lucky (if you can call multiply recurrent disease lucky) that Adrienne's latest relapses have been in isolated locations and not throughout the chest or in the lungs as would be the usual situation. We'll take what we can get.

We are hoping Adrienne can begin radiation next week. She is feeling much better this morning so we plan to see the new X Men movie as soon as we can. We're having a garage sale this weekend (Sat and Sun, 10 am to 3 pm) so come keep us company or maybe even find something you need for your home.