James Carrington

Now that I've moved away from home I figure it is time to record some of what is going on.  School is busy.  There is lots of homework and there are a lot of opportunities.  I'll be helping out at the 4th Street Clinic up here in Salt Lake starting next year.  I'll be part of the Americorps team which basically includes 300 hrs of service in one year with a $1200 scholarship at the end.  It averages out to about 6 hrs a week which I will do before classes on Wednesday and Friday.  It should be an awesome opportunity. Today I also went to the Salt Lake temple.  It is so nice being so close.  I learned how much a wife can really support her husband in standing up for the right.  Maybe it's just all of the family and humanity classes I'm taking right now but the family really is the central unit for all success.  I look forward to going to the temple more frequently now and as long as I can get my homework done there should be ample oppor...

Today I received results from my final PET/CT scan from yesterday.  After 12 long chemo treatments stretching over almost six months I am finally cancer free!!!  It has been a roller coaster learning to adjust to all of the differences in life that cancer brings.  I have learned from the ups and downs the importance of hope.  It has provided an opportunity to be on the receiving end of other people's charity and compassion.  I have never felt so loved than over the last six months.  I still remember the love from the missionaries in Florida who stopped by the hospital Christmas week, the love from family members after returning home, and the great love I felt from everyone who has stopped by to visit or talk (including those who have reached out through social media).  Here are a few highlights from the last six months (to name just a few): -Mowing/ Edging the Lawn (No better way to remember missionary service, especially because it reminds me of a g...

This picture shoes the blood work from today.  My hair has mostly thinned and I am starting to get used to wearing a Florida Gators baseball cap.  My mouth now tastes like mouthwash all the time, but it isn't too terrible.  The Zaxbys banana pudding milkshake during chemo treatments really helped.  Yesterday I mowed and edged the lawn, my muscles are sore from that and my stomach hasn't yet been fully up to par after drinking several cups of water in succession after finishing the lawn.  It's been getting better and will likely go away before the tiredness.  No nausea pills is the plan again for this time and with only two more chemo treatments the end its in sight.  Thanks for everyone's support.

9/12 chemo treatments are complete marking the 3/4 mark.  All has been going well.  I am off of the nausea medications, except for the one given intravenously before chemo.  The only medications I have been taking are emeprazole (which I hope to get off when chemo is complete) and biotene (which is a mouthwash which helps with dry mouth, typically I only use this for the first week after chemo treatments after I brush my teeth).  Many people have asked what happens after I finish the chemo treatments, so I finally asked the doctor about that today.  After the final treatment I will have one more PET/CT scan to ensure the cancer is still gone.  I can have my catho-port removed after the results come back negative.  For the next year I will have full body check-ups every three months to check for any secondary cancers.  PET/CT scans are not typical in the check-up process for those who have had lymphoma unless something is obviously wrong in one of ...

Last Friday marked the sixth of twelve Chemo treatments complete.  All has been going really well and I feel as though I have finally mastered the technique of after treatment recovery (knock on wood).  I've has no signs of nausea and the only recognizable side effects left after treatments have been a strong dislike of ice and a constant after taste in the mouth that usually lasts for a week.  I have not had any recurrence of mouth sores in the last two treatments which has been a major blessing.  In addition to being halfway complete through the chemo cycle I was also able to receive the full report of the PET Scan from two weeks ago which stated I was responding "excellent" to treatments (a term not used too frequently) and that all (or most) of the lymphoma (cancer) is gone. I also got off one of my medications to help lower my heart rate this week. Life has definitely been going well.  Still have a low blood count and visits from those who are healthy odds ...

No evidence of active lymphoma. Still am planning on finishing the 12 treatments of chemo (seven left).

One quarter done with chemo treatments.  This last one went really well.  My white blood cell count has been going down.  Two treatments ago it was at 2.4 and this last one it was 0.14 (normal is 4-10). This basically means I don't really get to go out, visits are definitely welcome.  I got to attend the temple last week, it was amazing.  The temple is a beautiful place.  Last week I also got to do some wood carving, thanks to a wonderful neighbor and home teacher.  I also got to start some cross stitching which has taken been a good time consumer.  All is well and I have been feeling great.  Two more weeks until the next treatment,

Everything has been going well for the past two weeks.  Today I had my second treatment of chemo. One of the major concerns of chemo has been that it effects the white blood cells.  Miraculously today we found out that my white blood cell count is normal at 5.  This is fantastic as it means I still have an immune defense, at least for now.  The chemo went great.  They use the drugs ABVD which is a combination of four chemo drugs they use. During the pre-chemo treatment I had a little reaction, which was fun, but it only lasted a couple minutes.  It felt like a little nausea mixed with coughing and a shortness of breath. It isn't anything to be concerned about. I really appreciated everyone's support a couple weeks ago when I gave a talk at church.  It was great to see so many familiar faces and to feel the support. Even though there wasn't much or any time to talk with everyone I could definitely feel the love.  I am still open to visitors and it ...

Yesterday I had a bone marrow biopsy and a port-a-cath put in.  There was no cancer in the bone marrow which is great.  They also got the results back from the PET scan and it was determined to be stage 3.  This means that the enlarged lymph nodes are both above and below the diaphragm.  They also inserted a  port-a-cath which is basically like a permanent IV near the heart.  This allows the medications to go into a larger artery. Today I got my first full treatment of Chemo.  They give a treatment known as ABVD.  Because it is stage 3, the chemo will be every other week for a period of 24 weeks.  As of now I have not recognized any side effects.  They are most concerned of the possibility of infection while having Chemo.  They don't want me to be around large crowds.  As of yet I am still feeling wonderful and the side effect should start taking effect sat or sun according to what the nurse said.

Yesterday I went in for a pulmonary function test which measures the air volume in your longs.  For my height and weight I was 73% of where the optimal level would be.  It's purpose is to be able to measure if there is any lung damage during the chemo.  The low lung volume was not caused by asthma.  Today they did a full body PET scan to measure the activity of the cancer cells and how many, where, and the size of the enlarged lymph nodes.  The results for this test we will get on Thursday.

It has been an adventure this last week and a half with a lot of new information.  Last week I was diagnosed with Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin's disease which is the most common type of Lymphoma (cancer).  It is very treatable with Chemo over an extended period of time, probably 6 months.  The treatment is given every other week.  They are working on determining the stage of the cancer through a full body PET scan which will happen tomorrow, and a bone marrow biopsy.  The purpose of these scans and biopsy is the see how many and how large the lymph nodes are in the body.  The bone marrow biopsy will determine if the cancer is also in the bone marrow. Because of the extended treatment I was released from serving a full time mission in the Florida Jacksonville Mission.  Most updates of what is going on regarding the cancer will come through this blog page.  There will be a very positive outcome in the end.  No more cancer!