| Rhonda's Story By Rhonda January 17, 2002 |
| On April 1 2001, I got my husband off to work and was waiting my daughter to bring the gandbaby over. When my daughter got here I was passed out in the floor. |
| She called 911 and help came. I thought I was dieing. They seem to think I had an anyphalatic reaction to Tessalon Pearles. I was kept in the hospital overnight and given high doses of steriods intravenous. The next day I went home but had all kinds of pains in my sinus, and esophagus. By Friday I had pneumonia which I had never had before. That is when they found the spots on my lungs. 3 on left lung and 3 on right lung. The largest was 2cm in left lung. The waiting game began, I first did the Broncoscope, needle biopsey, and then surgery. The surgeon knew it was cancer but didn't know the type. |
| I was told we hoped it wasn't MM because 12 years before I had a MM mole removed that was 5mm deep. The pathologist here couldn't be for sure if it was MM so it was sent to Boston and finally 2 and a half weeks after surgery I was called and given the news. I was sent to local cancer center and was told they had no treatment for me and sent me to a MM specialist. I was told a trial would start that would be good for my type, it was high dose IL2 and the peptide vaccine. I only got 2 rounds due to growth. I am now checking into to surgery again to remove the spots in right lung the surgeon sent me for PET scan and it showed growth in left lung which I thought was clean since my surgery in May. I can see right now this is going to be the way my life goes searching for that one cure that is right for me. |
| I do
however feel God intervened in my diagnosis. So I am sure He is with me every
step of the way. This is all part of His plan for me. I don't understand it
all but I trust God all the way. I am becoming content with this disease
because I know It is God's plan and that means something good will comeout
of it. May God bless each of you as you go on your journey and trust
God because He know's all.
Rhonda Stage IV Lung Mets |