Oh! Hi there, Chemo Round 3...

Last night I felt the full gravity of what my doctor meant when he said, "We are going to treat you aggressively." Backing up a bit, I should note that most of the pain I have had up to this point has quite manageable, either through exercise or pain medication. I think to some degree I had the misconception (even though I know better) that as the cancer dissipated, the pain would also. But when you think about it, that doesn't make a lick of sense.

The thing to consider here is that, however abnormal, the tumors have in fact become a part of my body. Killing them, as the chemotherapy is doing, is really no different than surgically removing any normal part of my body, like a muscle or a piece of intestine. And the pain you might expect with such a procedure is very similar to the pain experienced during effective chemotherapies.

So to some extent I am relieved. At least I know it's working. The primary tumor, located in a lymph node on the right side of my neck, has all but dissipated, and I have minimal to no lymph node involvement anymore, which is a very good thing for lymphoma to be sure. But, as is common with blood and lymph cancers, my own cancer metastasized to my colon, as well. That tumor--which doctors refer to as a metastasis(es)--seems to be the last one to go, and because of its location in a physiologically active area of my body, I'm REALLY feeling it. For the time being, my only option is to manage the pain through pain medication, which believe it or not is only mildly effective here. But I'm also of the mindset that it's only temporary, and if anything it has made me more anxious/excited to see the results of my scan, which will take place prior to the fourth treatment. I'll be sure to share as soon as I know anything...