All of my clinical information is in the hands of the insurance physician reviewer. They have requested an expedited review and supposedly, Anthem BCBS will give us an answer on the splenic irradiation before late Thursday. Friday afternoon is when my next appointment at the radiation oncologist's office is scheduled. The remainder of the radiation planning and simulation before Monday's treatment will occur on Friday.
The CT Scan revealed somethings that we knew and somethings that we did not know. My spleen, as expected, is "markedly enlarged" - a normal spleen is around 8-9 cm in length and my spleen was around 28 cm in length. The amount of lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes) was also increased from my 2009 CT Scan, mainly the retroperitoneal (back of the abdomen). My non-medical daughter said that readers don't understand the medical terms, so I have been trying to provide descriptions/definititions.
What we did not know is that the CT revealed an internal hernia. My doctor believes that the very enlarged spleen probably caused this hernia. As long as I do not develop a bowel obstruction, we will just keep an eye on the internal hernia. Also noted, were a pericardial effusion and a pleural effusion (right lung). Basically these terms refer to fluid around my heart and lung. I need to do further research to determine the causes of these findings and what needs to be done. I have read that fungal infections and the leukemia itself can cause these symptoms. Hopefully, neither of these causes will be discovered as the causes of these effusions. (Maybe I have just sprung a leak!)
I continue to have additional days without IV antibiotics or antifungals. My Mighty Milk Experiment #2 combined with the herbal additions seem to be working for me. I still have had times of fever but they are not consistent.
I received my first of four doses of the HiB vaccine on Monday and that went well, without reactions. And I did not require Neupogen injections this past week.
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