Jaimee did more tests yesterday but no needles...wooohooo
Tomorrow Jaimee checks into "The City of Hope" for a port to be put into her chest to access her veins when needed...While Jaimee is under anesthetic the doctors may decide to do another bone marrow test on the left hip where the PET scan showed cancer activity, not on the right one : (
When Jaimee wakes up from having the port put in she will be admitted to the paediatric word of the hospital for her 1st chemo treatment...The doctor will let us know when she can come home, hopefully 3-4 days from tomorrow...
Tomorrow will be the start to a journey of recovery...
Mom
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
City of Hope
What a great experience for all of us but especially for Jaimee.
The doctor was very thorough with his consult today and told us he will cure Jaimee...He was very confident of the medicines and staff at their facility...
Jaimee is going back tomorrow morning to do a few more tests...Hopefully all the results will come back an an hour and a half after our appointment so they can place a port in Jaimee's chest for chemo...
Doctor Armenian said Jaimee will have to be admitted into the hospital 3-4 days twice a month for her treatments and may not have to have radiation after chemo is over with, we'll have to see...He wants to start tomorrow if possible...
Dr. Armenian told Jaimee school will have to wait and that she may have to drop out, we'll find out more when we speak to the social worker and an educational advocate tomorrow as well...
This is going soooo fast and very overwhelming for Jaimee...
Thank you for all your support for Jaimee...It's great to know she has so many friends to help her get through this tough time...
Tay, Bryce, and Jodee
The doctor was very thorough with his consult today and told us he will cure Jaimee...He was very confident of the medicines and staff at their facility...
Jaimee is going back tomorrow morning to do a few more tests...Hopefully all the results will come back an an hour and a half after our appointment so they can place a port in Jaimee's chest for chemo...
Doctor Armenian said Jaimee will have to be admitted into the hospital 3-4 days twice a month for her treatments and may not have to have radiation after chemo is over with, we'll have to see...He wants to start tomorrow if possible...
Dr. Armenian told Jaimee school will have to wait and that she may have to drop out, we'll find out more when we speak to the social worker and an educational advocate tomorrow as well...
This is going soooo fast and very overwhelming for Jaimee...
Thank you for all your support for Jaimee...It's great to know she has so many friends to help her get through this tough time...
Tay, Bryce, and Jodee
Friday, October 24, 2008
Bone Marrow Test Today : (
Today was the most traumatizing day ever.
I was scheduled to have a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration, which i was majorly stressing about. We got there and waited for the nurse to call me in. When she did she took my weight and blood pressure. After she took my blood pressure she decided to surprise me with a blood test. I absolutely hate blood tests and since it was a surprise it made everything worse. I had a panic attack and started crying. I think I scared the other patient in the room and the nurse as well. After the blood test we had to sit and wait for the doctor. Before the doctor came in the nurse came in to give me medicine to relax. I wasn't as scared for this shot because i just had my blood drawn a few minutes earlier. So the nurse pinched my skin and stuck me with the needle and I thought this isn't bad I can do it. But then she started to inject the medicine and my skin started to burn. the burning intensified as the medicine was injected into my arm. I felt like I had an inferno in my arm. The shot was supposed to relax me but I think it made everything worse. I listened to my iTouch to try to keep my mind off of things and it worked until the doctor came in. So when the doctor came in he told me to lay on my side in the fetal position to find the best spot for the bone marrow biopsy. I was crying and the doctor kept on telling me it was a small procedure but it didn't matter to me because it involved needles and blood. By this time i was extremely nervous as he was swabbing my hip with betadine and alcohol. Dr. Lim then gave me a numbing shot to the hip and then another one into the hip bone, which was more painful then he said it would be. Now it was time to start the biopsy. The doctor said I would only feel pressure but I felt everything that he was doing and it was definitely more than pressure. I cried and screamed a few times...The music did not distract me at all. My chest felt like it was going to collapse and my leg felt like it wanted to fall off, i was hating life. It was the worse experience of my life.
Dr. Lim went over the PET scan and told us I am in at least stage 3 of my disease and we'll find out next Tuesday if the cancer is in my marrow which will up grade me to stage 4. We then decided it would be best for me to go to, "The City of Hope" where they have more treatment programs with experimental drugs and clinical studies. We also decided to check out the pediatric care center verses the adult center. We have our first appointment on Monday and hopefully will be starting chemo this week.
Thank you Nancy Sakakura and Staci Fujita for all the help you have given us. Dr. Lim said that the City of Hope is the best choice for me.
Wig hunting today...AAAGGGHHH
When we walked into the store I was excited and kinda creeped out. It was weird because there were a bunch of heads all over the walls with creepy faces on them. but there was a hot pink wig and i started to get excited because I wanted to try it on. We then were greeted by this crazy Asian lady to try a few wigs on. She was very pushy, rude, and not a very good listener, she picked out wigs that she said were cute, and said no to the ones i wanted to try on...The wigs she picked were probably good for people her age, not for me. She said she has been doing this for 31 years and knows what she is doing and said I was not ready for a wig yet.
We then walked out very disappointed and went to this really nice lady in Westminster that hand makes real hair wigs for a fraction of what it would cost somewhere else. They were extremely nice and we finally had a good experience. Tomorrow we will check out one more wig place and see what they have to say. This is so exhausting!
Thanks for your thoughts and concerns...I will update you all soon.
Jaimee
I was scheduled to have a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration, which i was majorly stressing about. We got there and waited for the nurse to call me in. When she did she took my weight and blood pressure. After she took my blood pressure she decided to surprise me with a blood test. I absolutely hate blood tests and since it was a surprise it made everything worse. I had a panic attack and started crying. I think I scared the other patient in the room and the nurse as well. After the blood test we had to sit and wait for the doctor. Before the doctor came in the nurse came in to give me medicine to relax. I wasn't as scared for this shot because i just had my blood drawn a few minutes earlier. So the nurse pinched my skin and stuck me with the needle and I thought this isn't bad I can do it. But then she started to inject the medicine and my skin started to burn. the burning intensified as the medicine was injected into my arm. I felt like I had an inferno in my arm. The shot was supposed to relax me but I think it made everything worse. I listened to my iTouch to try to keep my mind off of things and it worked until the doctor came in. So when the doctor came in he told me to lay on my side in the fetal position to find the best spot for the bone marrow biopsy. I was crying and the doctor kept on telling me it was a small procedure but it didn't matter to me because it involved needles and blood. By this time i was extremely nervous as he was swabbing my hip with betadine and alcohol. Dr. Lim then gave me a numbing shot to the hip and then another one into the hip bone, which was more painful then he said it would be. Now it was time to start the biopsy. The doctor said I would only feel pressure but I felt everything that he was doing and it was definitely more than pressure. I cried and screamed a few times...The music did not distract me at all. My chest felt like it was going to collapse and my leg felt like it wanted to fall off, i was hating life. It was the worse experience of my life.
Dr. Lim went over the PET scan and told us I am in at least stage 3 of my disease and we'll find out next Tuesday if the cancer is in my marrow which will up grade me to stage 4. We then decided it would be best for me to go to, "The City of Hope" where they have more treatment programs with experimental drugs and clinical studies. We also decided to check out the pediatric care center verses the adult center. We have our first appointment on Monday and hopefully will be starting chemo this week.
Thank you Nancy Sakakura and Staci Fujita for all the help you have given us. Dr. Lim said that the City of Hope is the best choice for me.
Wig hunting today...AAAGGGHHH
When we walked into the store I was excited and kinda creeped out. It was weird because there were a bunch of heads all over the walls with creepy faces on them. but there was a hot pink wig and i started to get excited because I wanted to try it on. We then were greeted by this crazy Asian lady to try a few wigs on. She was very pushy, rude, and not a very good listener, she picked out wigs that she said were cute, and said no to the ones i wanted to try on...The wigs she picked were probably good for people her age, not for me. She said she has been doing this for 31 years and knows what she is doing and said I was not ready for a wig yet.
We then walked out very disappointed and went to this really nice lady in Westminster that hand makes real hair wigs for a fraction of what it would cost somewhere else. They were extremely nice and we finally had a good experience. Tomorrow we will check out one more wig place and see what they have to say. This is so exhausting!
Thanks for your thoughts and concerns...I will update you all soon.
Jaimee
Monday, October 13, 2008
First Consult with Dr Lim - Hematologist Oncologist
October 10, 2008
Dr Lim explained that with Hodgkin's Lymphoma I have a 95% cure rate if I am in stage one or two with the disease and if I am in stage three or four I will have a 50% cure rate.
Since I haven't lost 10% of my weight Dr. Lim thinks I may be in stage one or two which is great!
In order to figure out what stage I am in Dr. Lim has ordered a PET scan tomorrow and a bone marrow test on October 24th, I HATE NEEDLES!!!
I will be having a minimum of 8 months of chemotherapy and another two months of radiation. Along with chemotherapy i will need to have a booster shot the day after my infusion.
Dr Lim has warned me that I will be losing my hair through all of this : (
I am constantly tired from night sweats, fevers, stress, and anemia. I love to sleep when ever possible and I have a very short attention span.
Dr. Lim has advised me to stay away from baby sitting, coaching, and sick people. I have to wash my hands all the time so I don't catch anything.
Dr Lim explained that with Hodgkin's Lymphoma I have a 95% cure rate if I am in stage one or two with the disease and if I am in stage three or four I will have a 50% cure rate.
Since I haven't lost 10% of my weight Dr. Lim thinks I may be in stage one or two which is great!
In order to figure out what stage I am in Dr. Lim has ordered a PET scan tomorrow and a bone marrow test on October 24th, I HATE NEEDLES!!!
I will be having a minimum of 8 months of chemotherapy and another two months of radiation. Along with chemotherapy i will need to have a booster shot the day after my infusion.
Dr Lim has warned me that I will be losing my hair through all of this : (
I am constantly tired from night sweats, fevers, stress, and anemia. I love to sleep when ever possible and I have a very short attention span.
Dr. Lim has advised me to stay away from baby sitting, coaching, and sick people. I have to wash my hands all the time so I don't catch anything.
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