How it all started

Hello!

My name is Kara Lee, I'm 26, and currently battling a relapse of diffuse large b cell non hodgkins lymphoma.

How it all started..

I was pregnant with my daughter, Skylar, and at my OB checks I would have a large amount of bleeding and pain, which my doctor, Dr. Edmunds, became concerned about. So she biopsied my cervix, expecting nothing to come back. Unfortunately, I was called into the office of September of 2007, to find that I had a large mass on my cervix about the size of a small lemon. I was told that I had a rare cancer for my age, and especially during pregnancy. So, due to the aggressiveness of this cancer, I was sent to my now oncologist Dr. Eapen. The general concensus was to expedite my delivery and begin chemo ASAP. BAM, end of September diagnosed with cancer at 25, first of October 2007, delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Skylar, by c-section October 1st. I started chemo, a regimen called R-CHOP that same week. By after the 2nd cycle which ranged anywhere from 2-4 weeks depending on my blood counts, I had a significant reduction of the cancer that had been found extensively in my cervix, spine, breasts, and bilateral axillary lymphnodes.. by the 4th scan, there was no evidence of disease. I continued 2 more cycles for a total of 6.

For 6 glorious months I had clean scans. Unfortunately, at my 6 month scan a small place was detected by PET scan on my chest wall, next to my right breast. I then underwent a battery of tests, MRI of the breasts, bilateral mammograms, and ultimately a biopsy of the area. The radiologist was sure it was a blood vessel, and initially was afraid to biopsy it because of the risk of bleeding, but I insisted. One of those eery feelings you get that something is wrong and it probably needs to be looked in to. So, she decided to biopsy. She tried to draw blood back several times, but was unable to. At this point, I knew it was solid. A mass. At that point I knew it had returned. So the biopsy was completed, and about a day later, I got the phone call. It was Dr. Eapen. It indeed was cancer. I was booked a room the same night to begin 2nd line treatment in preparation for a Stem Cell Transplant called ESHAP-R. It was a continous 5 day infusion of chemo. I also had a new port placed prior to the chemo. After I was discharged home, I have never been so nauseated and tired in all my life. The previous chemo I had been on I had really no side effects besides hair loss and fatigue. After not even a week of being home, I began running a fever. I got readmitted to the hospital for neutropenic sepsis. I stayed in the hospital for about a week getting pumped full of antibiotics. It was never determined where my infection was, but I think it was my port site. It looked nasty.

Second round of ESHAP-R wasn't as bad as the first, but still the nausea was overwhelming. It was thankfully uneventful.

So, I had a scan this past Thursday, and thankfully, there were no signs of cancer. Im not done yet though. If I stopped here there is a 90% chance the cancer would come back without any other intervention. But with Stem Cell Transplantation Ill have a 30-60% chance of cure. Theres a wide range because everyone is different and no one persons cancer is the same. Ill be having this procedure using my own cells if possible, and if for some reason I cant produce enough stem cells to replenish my bone marrow after high dose chemo, Ill be using my sisters if she matches (25% chance of match) or a matched unrelated volunteer donor from the bone marrow registry. So sign up! I may need your bone marrow. =) All this will take place at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, and I will be in the hospital for about a month for the actual transplant. All testing, stem cell harvesting, is done on an outpatient basis, so me, my mom, Skylar, and possibly my stepmom Kathy will be piled in somewhere staying in Nashville periodically until transplant which is likely to occur sometime at the end of November, beginning of December. My insurance pays for lodging, so, hey, it may be some swanky apartment in the city. heheh

So there you have it, my life, since September of 2007. This blog is mostly to update family and friends of whats going on, and to document my experience of Stem Cell Transplant for others who might come along in my situation.

Prayers are always appreciated, as a course, Im scared silly with all of this. I was able to take Skylar trick or treating, and she was so cute. I usually just go around bald, or with a boggan on, but I wore hair that night, and she got a kick out of my hair. Anyhow, thats all I have for now.