Vince's Journey

Hi everyone... I wanted to bring you all up to speed on the results of my CT scans from a week ago. I visited with Dr. Leming today and apparently I have an enlarged lymph node in my abdomen that is a cause for some attention. The node is pressing up against an area of my kidney and they're concerned that it could lead to a blockage which could, in turn, lead to a more serious situation. I didn't think there could be a more serious situation than having lymphoma but damned if I didn't prove that wrong. So tomorrow I'm going to see a urologist. The hope is he'll be able to place a stint that will prevent a blockage and allow for the lymphoma to be treated in a less aggressive way. With a stint we should be able to look at the various treatment options and determine what makes the most sense at this time. If a stint isn't possible, Dr. Leming wants to get busy treating this thing immediately and aggressively - he's confident he can shrink it but he wants to make sure we do it as quickly as possible to avoid any blockage. Hopefully the stint will work but I obviously am preparing myself for whatever avenue we have to take. Dr. Leming said if the node was anywhere else he wouldn't even recommend treating it at this time - he just doesn't want to take any chances with it so close to the kidney. Bottom line - my run of boring CT scans is over for the time being. I'll know more tomorrow after the visit with the urologist. Dr. Leming said this is something we can get through so I'm going to hold him to that. It almost seems unreal - I've been talking with many other people going through treatments of his/her own and now here I go again! I've been able to knock it down twice already and I'm ready to make it 3 for 3.... Other than the obvious, things have been going very well. We had a great time in St. Louis over the weekend with our kids. Book of Mormon was hysterical - we're already looking forward to seeing it again when it plays in Cincinnati next season. We also enjoyed the Oscars last night - I thought they selected all the right winners except in the Best Director category where the person who should have won (Ben Affleck) didn't even receive a nomination. Again, I'll be sure to update you all on our next steps. There's never a dull moment in the Hopkins house!