tomorrow bone marrow biopsy and ct scan

Tomorrow I have another biopsy, this time they are going to focus on getting out bone marrow from my hip. The results of this biopsy are going to tell us if the cancer is in my bone marrow, we already know that it is in my bone in a couple spots on my hip. If the cancer is in my bone marrow, they will "stage" it as more advanced. That would hurt the prognosis a little bit. The other thing I will do tomorrow is a ct scan looking for my lymph nodes. I can't eat anything for 4 hours then I'll get injected with a dye and they'll scan me with this donut shaped machine and that will tell us if my lymph nodes are swollen. Next Tuesday I have a PET scan. I think that also looks for swollen lymph nodes and stuff but now I am not sure of all of the details. Anyway, these should be the last tests to decide the staging of my lymphoma, which just means how far it has progressed.

The other thing they will consider is how weak my bone is. They might want to use radiation to fry the tumor, which would allow my bone to start growing back there and speed up when I can walk again. They would do this before chemo begins probably. Looks like we might not radiate though, so chemotherapy should begin mid to late next week (hopefully April 19 I'll get my CHOP and April 20 I'll get my rituxin). Then I am really hoping to get to go to Dallas where I will coach my City Beach team where we will win a bid to JO's and I'll see my brothers and friends back home in Texas, assuming they can make the drive up, but shoot, they better, I have cancer.