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I have recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma and will be starting my treatment shortly. I have created this blog for two reason, to inform and update anyone interested enough to want to know how I am fairing and secondly for me to keep a diary of what happened and when. I find that, even though this situation has been going on for a relatively short time, I am still loosing track of what happened and when.

As this is my first post and I don’t want to go on too long I shall be brief:

Week 18-24.10.09 I found a painful lump in my groin. I can honestly say that I had not noticed it before.

10.10.09 I paid my first visit to a doctor in France. He arranged then and there for a blood test (another first) and a scan at Cahors Hospital.

20.10.09 Blood test taken at the laboratory in Gourdon. Didn’t hurt after all.

22.10.09 Picked up the blood test results. All looked to be OK to me and Sue.

13.11.09 Cahors Hospital for a scan. A highlighter liquid injected in via a drip. Waited about an hour for the results. Came in large folder, prints, CD and an analysis from the doctor who did the scan. Pictures show a large number of small tumours but some larger ones in the lymph system. Report suggested a biopsy of the original lump in the groin.

16.11.09 Back to the GP who looked at the results and made an appoitment with a specialist at Cahors.

02.12.09 See the specialist at Cahors. He is not a surgeon so further referal.

08.12.09 See surgeon. He seems alarmed at the size of the lump and will be doing the biopsy under a general anaesthetic.

10.12.09 See anaesthetist. As we don’t know my blood group sent down to the lab at the hospital for another blood sample.

16.12.09 To Cahors for my biopsy. To counteract MRSA you have to shower the previous evening and use an Iodine solution instead of soap. Arrived at hospital at 0700hrs and shower again. Operation went OK and discharged that evening. Over the next week local nurses visited the house to change dressing etc.

30.12.09 See cancer specialist again who confirms Lymphoma but more tests are required to identify the exact type. A bone marrow biopsy is needed but he thinks I have Mantel Lymphoma which is very slow growing and I have probably had it for some time and it may be quiet advanced. Happy New Year!

31.12.09 To Cahors for the bone marrow biopsy. Very uneasy about this and had researched it on the net and it sounded quiet awful. In fact it was done under gas and air and a local and was not painful at all. The marrow was taken from my pelvis and apart from a bit of bruising I have had no ill effects. Results will take about a week.

Thats the story so far but there are more appointments this week which I will blog about on other posts.