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His Wife

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Bio	I don’t even know how to begin this… Around Mother’s Day of this year my husband found a small lump under his left arm. After a few trips to our local hometown clinic he was sent for an ultrasound. The results of that told us that he had Lymphoma…and if we had to have a cancer…that was the one to have…because it was treatable…curable even. After being sent for a biopsy…we were then told that we did not have Lymphoma. Instead…we were diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma…Stage 4. We were also told that it was one of the worst cancers that we could get. I guess I need to explain why I use the term ‘we’. It’s simple in the fact that…to me…even those this physical disease is in my husbands body…we are on this journey together. If there were some way that I could climb inside his body and fight with him I would. Knowing that I can not do that…I proudly stand beside him. In June of this year we met with a local oncologist here in our hometown. He explained to us that he was a Chemo doctor…and told us that chemo would not help our disease. He scheduled a PET Scan and told us that our only hope was to be able to participate in a Clinical Trial. He sent us to the Vanderbilt Cancer Center in Nashville Tennessee. We met with our primary oncologist there. He was worried that our tumors were too big to be surgically removed…but sent us to the surgeon regardless. Since then…we have had two major surgeries. In both areas 100% of what could be seen and felt has been removed. This does not mean however…that we are cancer free. Our surgical oncologist and our primary oncologist both explained to us that…although they removed everything that they could…as much disease that was in his body…there is just no way that every microscopic cell could be removed. Because of that…and even though it is primarily resistant to melanoma…we will be starting radiation tomorrow. Radiation will consist of 5 treatments a week for a total of 4 weeks…20 treatments in all. That will be pretty much the month of October. On November 4th we go back to Vanderbilt for another PET Scan…to see how well the radiation worked. We will get those results on the 11th. The next step of our plan…if necessary…will be IL2. To be continued…
Display Name	His Wife
I am	the patient's wife
Initial Diagnosis Month	May
Initial Diagnosis Year	2011
Stage at Diagnosis	Stage 4
Current Stage	Stage 4

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