Salam all,
We are all ok after the 2nd attack.
Done with my 6th chemo yesterday. Shots starting Monday, but this time I’ll be alternating between different locations (arms, thighs, abdomen) for the injections, which hopefully will minimize the pain.
Anyway, the current plan is for me to take my 8th and last chemo on 30th of August, then I’ll be able to head back home on 31st August or 1/2 September depending on seat availability insha’Allah, as my wife starts work on 3/September (she’s a school teacher). The health office can’t keep patients abroad if they don’t have any appointments for 3 consecutive weeks anyway, so they send them back to Kuwait.
This means I’ll be able to help with the new building migration if it starts on 1/september as planned insha’Allah, yuppii!
Then, I’ll need to come back in 6-8weeks (hopefully 8 weeks, so that it is after Ramadan!) for a PET/CT scan to determine whether further chemo/radiation is necessary or not. If I were to do it in Kuwait, then since they don’t have the PET there yet, they’d go with radiation immediately given the large size of the tumor in my mediastum (cavity in middle of chest). However, with the new PET scan they can determine whether the remaining mass is active or inactive more accurately so I would avoid radiation if not necessary.
PET scans should become more mainstream as they are used more often and get cheaper. They show in color where active cells are, while the CT scans only show the size and location of the tumors without knowing whether they’re still alive or dead. I think the only way to know with CTs is to take a CT, then wait and take another one and see if the tumor got bigger or not!! Obviously, the extra waiting is not very good especially with the high-grade (fast) lymphoma that I have.
Of course, my trip back in November will have to be approved by the Ahmadi hospital committee, but the health office here says they usually approve sponsorships when there’s already a follow-up appointment for the same treatment.
Salam,
Nasser.

