Adrienne had her PET scan last Friday and I just got the results this morning. We still have a few questions since the radiologist compared it to one done in April, 2006 rather than to the one done last December. Another reading has been requested but the doctor is out for a few days for Passover so it will probably be the end of the week before we get another report. In any event, the PET aligns very closely with the CT. The area in the humerus (shoulder bone) in December's PET doesn't show on this one, which is good news. The only area of concern is new uptake in the thigh, which is very strange since Adrienne doesn't have pain there. We aren't so concerned about the thigh itself but rather spread of her disease.
Adrienne's doctor is very pleased with how she's doing and would like for her to stay the course, so we've agreed. He seems confident that there will be a curative treatment for her in the foreseeable future as long as we can keep things under control until then. This is a bit uncomfortable for us, watching and waiting, but Adrienne feels well and we don't want to upset things unless absolutely necessary. So, we'll finalize plans for New York in the coming weeks. She already has a great summer internship in NY and a place to stay in the NYU dorms for the summer. Columbia postponed the date when they would let visiting students know if they're admitted so the fall is still up in the air. They promise an answer by May 1 and Adrienne needs to tell CMC of her plans by August 1, so we're good there.
Otherwise, things are going well. Prince (our sheltie) already fell in the new pool. I should say, he ran into it trying to get to a splash of water. We had a good laugh over that. The rest of us can go in after Wednesday, which is nice since it has now warmed up here in Nevada. We still have some landscaping to do but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Adrienne is keeping busy and is looking forward to seeing President Clinton at CMC next month. Her college is amazing and we're so happy she can enjoy it, even though she studies incredibly hard. If you get a chance, go to http://www.cmc.edu to see some of the incredible things they do. If you look hard, you can find a current picture of Adrienne at the Kravis Leadership Institute.
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Adrienne was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1996 at age 9. She had multiple relapses, two bone marrow transplants, and a range of chemos and radiation therapies, and passed away on October 1, 2009. We are heartbroken.
Out with the Girls
About Adrienne
- Adrienne
- Adrienne was very much like others with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, the most common cancer in teens and young adults. What was unusual is that she had it for more than half her life and ultimately, it took her life. Hodgkin's is curable for about 80% people, but Adrienne was one of the 20% for whom a cure was elusive. She considered herself lucky since treatments had been there for her with each relapse but she ran out of treatment options and her body just couldn’t take any more. As she said, "Though I’ve now had cancer for most of my life, I no longer plan my life around it; instead, I try to plan cancer around my life." We hope you can take inspiration from her and how she lived her life.
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