Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is not a children's disease.

Spencer was admitted to 7 West. Coincidentally, that floor is now the Neurology floor where Lauren was monitored and recovered from her brain surgery. Back then though, it was a general admission wing, but directly across from 7 East, the Oncology wing. Spencer's lymph nodes were swollen around his head, neck and chest. The doctors wanted to biopsy one of them, but they were hesitant to sedate him as they felt his breathing might be compromised. To reduce the swelling, they put him on chemotherapy.

Spencer's First Birthday

OK, so as I/we embark on this mission to relive this part of our lives, we are now digging through and searching for reams of information, letters, diaries and reference books to recall what exactly he was on and the sequence of events. Some of the most widely used chemotherapies at the time included Cytoxan, Adriamycin, Oncovin, Methotrexate and usually a steroid like Prednisone. If we find the exact information we will make corrections, but most likely he was put on one or more of these drugs.

After several days on Chemotherapy they surgically biopsied one of his lymph nodes and installed a broviac catheter. The broviac was inserted on the left side of his chest and allows them to directly administer anything they would put through an IV, but without having to stick the child with a needle. The diagnosis: Non-Hodgkins, KI-1 Lymphoma, Stage 3.

Lymphomas in general are cancers that arise from the lymphoid system, a complex network of cells and channels that run throughout the body as a basic part of our immune system. British physician Thomas Hodgkin first diagnosed lymphoma in 1832. His lymphoma behaved in a very predictable way and has come to be called Hodgkins Disease. All other forms are called Non-Hodgkins. I believe KI-1 refers to the fact that it is an intermediate-grade, diffuse mixed small cell and large cell lymphoma. Stage 3 refers to the fact that his disease was involved on both sides of the diaphragm and not just localized on one side of the body and sometimes can also involve an organ or site that is not part of the lympatic system. Survival rates for stages 1 & 2 are 70 - 90%, stages 3 & 4 are 40 - 50%. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is not a children's disease.