Come What May...

Indulging in a hospital sandwich after my biopsy

Yesterday I started the journey down a different path in life. It was the first step in determining if I have Chronic myelogenous leukemia, otherwise known as CML. This required going to the hospital and having a bone marrow biopsy done from the back of my right hip. I don’t recall a lot from the procedure itself as I was consciously sedated, but what I do recall was the pain when the Pathologist actually “sucked” the marrow out of my hip and then took a small sample of my hip bone for testing. I would attempt to describe the pain, but I honestly have nothing that I can even closely compare it to. Now it’s a waiting game, truth be told, Thursday afternoon when I meet with my Hematologist/Oncologist cannot come soon enough.

There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be strong and conquere whatever it is I may have. I’m a strong woman, with the attitude of 30 angry Irishmen who wont let anything get in my way. There’s a small voice in the back of my head that whispers it’s fear, worry and concern but the rest of me is standing strong on 4” black stiletto high heels with my fiery red hair ready to kick some ass and take down names while some obscenely loud heavy metal is blasting in the background as my theme music.

At this moment in time, there are three things this blood condition I’m dealing with could ultimately end up being.

1. Chronic myelogenous leukemia, which within the last 10 years the survival rate of this has gone from a 1-5% change of survival after 5 years, to a 90-95% survival rate after 5 years. There’s so many different medications out there now to treat it that weren’t available 10 years ago so I’m honestly not scared and more importantly, it’s treated with a pill a day. Most especially with an incredible Hematologist/Oncologist on my side who is well respected within the “industry” he works in.
2. Essential thrombocytosis, which also is treated with a pill a day. Typically this doesn’t present in adults until later on in their life (roughly late 50’s to 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s). So if I do have it, I will be the 2nd individual younger than 50 that the Hematologist/Oncologist has had a case with in the last 22 years of his field of experience. It’s not cancer, it’s no leukemia. It’s like a pre-cancer from what he was explaining in the office when we met with him this past Wednesday.
3. The bone marrow biopsy comes back and doesn’t show that I have either of the above two things and it’s just a reaction to an infection of some sort in my body or even medications I’m taking. Regular monitoring occurs with blood work taken on a fairly regular basis, but I go on about life as normal.