A lot of people ask me how they found the lymphoma.  The answer is a common, every day symptom that many people experience:  a cough.  Other signs that are now obvious include night sweats and fatigue.  I gave no thought to the first one because I had a hysterectomy in 2011 to treat cancer #1; so, being hot and sweating any time of the day has been my norm.  The fatigue, on the other hand, led me to believe something might be wrong.  I was so completely drained every day that walking from the parking lot to the grocery story was a challenge; lounging on the couch after work was my norm, and many days it was in silence because I could not keep my eyes open to watch TV or a movie or to engage in conversation.  Not a single test was conducted to explain why I was so fatigued.  The cough ultimately led to an X-ray, followed by a biopsy, followed by blood work.

My Diagnosis:  A Secondary Condition Was an Immediate Threat

The blood work solved the mystery of my fatigue – I have a condition called “hemolytic anemia” that is related to the lymphoma.  As one doctor described it, Pac Man was running through my body eating up my red blood cells.  My anemia was so severe that they almost admitted me to the hospital.  Instead, they prescribed Prednisone to try to stop Pac Man and bring my blood levels up until chemotherapy could fix (hopefully) the problem.  The Prednisone started working, first by stopping my blood levels from dropping further, and then my blood levels slowly started increasing.  As I result, when I started my chemo, my blood levels were almost normal.

A New Kind of Fatigue

After my experiences with anemia, I was surprised by a new type of fatigue that hit me on Day #7 (April 4).  I was at work (in my home office, thanks to my boss’s approval of telework) when, suddenly, my head just started dropping to the table.  I realized that I was unable to stop it and felt like a kid whose head falls into his cereal when he falls asleep at breakfast.  Or kind of like this little guy:

I lay with my head on the table for about five minutes before I was able to pull myself together, and then I quickly proceeded to reach out to coworkers to line up coverage for my work that day.  I then went straight to bed, sleeping for 3.5 hours in the middle of the day.  Though I was able to hold my head up after waking up, the nap did little to eliminate the tiredness in my body.

I wonder how the fatigue would have hit me if I had not been experiencing the anemia, if my blood levels were normal, and if I were not taking Prednisone.  I expect I may find out in a subsequent cycle of treatment, as the doctors have been slowly reducing the Prednisone as my blood levels increase.  (Thankfully.)  I am down to 10 mg per day (from 80 mg at the beginning) and cannot wait to be off of it completely because I do not like the side effects of this drug, which include everything from causing constant hunger, to elevating blood sugar, to causing osteoporosis.

Cycle #1 Has Been Blessed Thus Far

Other than the fatigue, which continues to hit at various moments in the day (though not as bad as on Day #7), I have experienced minor nausea (and some related conditions that no one wants to read about!) and what I will call “cancer brain.”  Examples of that include:  making/not catching mistakes, such as typos in emails and memos, and needing a little extra time to process information.  I feel blessed thus far, though I must admit that the impact on my brain functioning is somewhat alarming.  Some days, I almost feel good – at least by comparison to the days when Pac Man was depleting my blood cells.  I will have very few complaints if this is my new norm for the next six months.