The bumpy road to a diagnosis.

1996

You never know when you are going to get a wake up call. I was playing on two different ice hockey teams and rock climbing twice a week so I was pretty active. I had always been an "itchy" person and I never liked wool sweaters or new shirts because they would make me itch, so when my itching became more constant I didn't think too much of it. I figured it might be diet related, as I had been eating a low fat diet for a couple years, or maybe it was just related to all the sweating I do while playing ice hockey, rock climbing, and roller-blading. I tried many over the counter remedies, all to no avail, so when December 1996 rolled around I had a chance to take a few weeks off from hockey and climbing to see if that would make a difference. It didn't so it was time to go to a dermatologist.

January 15, 1997

First trip to the dermatologist. He did a bunch of tests, figuring that I was having an allergic reaction to something. He noticed an elevated White Blood Count (16.5K) and told me to see my regular doctor because I might have an infection. I went to a family practitioner on the first week of February. He examined me and said I appeared to be quite healthy, but repeated the blood test. My WBC was still elevated (16K), so he wanted to do a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis to look for a tumor or infection. I remember being so relieved when I got a message on my answering machine saying that the CT scan was clean, come back in 3 months and we will see if the WBC goes back down.

March 1997

Back to the dermatologist as I am still itching. He prescribed "Elemite" in case I have microscopic mites on my skin, and Prednisone. After applying the Elemite with no success, and reading about Prednisone and it's side effects, I decided that I needed to see a different dermatologist. The second dermatologist gave me a corticosteroid injection which stopped the itching in one day. He then suggested that I change my shampoo, soap, laundry detergent and stop using those dryer fabric softener sheets. I did all these things and was no longer itching, so I thought the problem was solved.

April 1997

The itching returns. One day no itching, the next day it is back worse than ever on almost my whole body. I was unable to sleep through the night without waking up to scratch so back I go to the dermatologist. He said that I have eczema and there's not too much I can do about it. He gave me a cream to put on, which helped a little, but not nearly enough. Throughout all this I was trying all kinds of dietary changes looking for the cause. All of my attempts met with failure.

May 1997

Back to the regular doctor for another blood test, WBC is still elevated (17K) and I am referred to a Hematologist/Oncologist. Now I am worried. I have been doing lots of research on the net, and Hodgkin's Disease seemed like a possibility. I mention this to the Oncologist on my first visit, and he says that he can't rule it out yet, but he doubted it. He said that the itching was more indicative of a myeloprolific disease, and sent me for a bunch more blood tests and a chest x-ray. I then began to feel a swollen lymph node in the right side of my neck. I can't help but think of Lisa Sparks' web page which tells her Hodgkin's story, and I knew I was in trouble.

June 4, 1997

The chest x-ray came back abnormal so my oncologist then switched his opinion to Hodgkin's Disease. I was scheduled for a CT scan of the chest/abdomen/pelvis and a lymph node biopsy the next week. The waiting was driving me mad. On June 16, 1997 - it's official. Hodgkin's disease is pathologically confirmed. Clinical Stage 3BS. He also performed a bone marrow biopsy on the 16th, which turned out to be clean. After a second opinion confirmed Hodgkin's on the 18th, a Gallium scan was done on the 20th, and a Lymphangiogram on the 24th/25th. The staging was also re-evaluated, and changed to 3AS. June 25th, 2007 was my first day of chemotherapy.

Return to Sunny's Home Page Send comments about this Web Site to Fangarr@TalonsOfJustice.com.