Ma was diagnosed with Lymphoma. This was devastating as our world had turned topsy-turvey in a matter of one week. From assuming that Ma was just getting old to having mortality thrust in our face, it was difficult times. But we had been absolutely transparent with Ma and everyone else letting them know exactly what was going on.
At this stage her case was transfered from Dr. Kini to Dr. Poonam Patil, a medical oncologist at Manipal Hospital. Dr. Poonam Patil is an extremely soft spoken and descriptive doctor. She was clear that this is a completely curable form of cancer and we did not need to worry about anything.
The good news was that this was one form of a cancer that was completely curable. The next point was to get an accurate staging of the cancer. Lymphoma can be split multiple ways:
To get an accurate staging of the Lymphoma a PET Scan was ordered. Ma was pumped with dye and chemicals and the scan was done acorss a 2 hour period. Post the PET Scan she was finally discharged. We went back after a few days to meet with Dr. Poonam Patil for the final diagnosis.
Ma was finally diagnosed with B-Type diffused, Intermediate, Stage 3 Lymphoma.
Dr. Patil explained to us with the help of the International Prognostic Index that at her age and stage, she had a survival ratio of 56% over a 5-year period and advised us to definitely go for Chemotherapy treatment for the same. Lymphoma can be treated only through chemotherapy and is the advised route.
We now had to find out a right place and treatment for her.
At this stage her case was transfered from Dr. Kini to Dr. Poonam Patil, a medical oncologist at Manipal Hospital. Dr. Poonam Patil is an extremely soft spoken and descriptive doctor. She was clear that this is a completely curable form of cancer and we did not need to worry about anything.
The good news was that this was one form of a cancer that was completely curable. The next point was to get an accurate staging of the cancer. Lymphoma can be split multiple ways:
- Cell type: Lymphoma can be a B or T type Lymphoma.
- Stage: It can be Stage 1 (localised), Stage 2 (more than one cancerous lymph nodes found below the diaphragm), Stage 3 (more than one cancerous lymph node found above and below the diaphragm) & Stage 4 (infected the bone marrow as well).
- Type: It can be low, intermediate or high level of lymphoma.
To get an accurate staging of the Lymphoma a PET Scan was ordered. Ma was pumped with dye and chemicals and the scan was done acorss a 2 hour period. Post the PET Scan she was finally discharged. We went back after a few days to meet with Dr. Poonam Patil for the final diagnosis.
Ma was finally diagnosed with B-Type diffused, Intermediate, Stage 3 Lymphoma.
Dr. Patil explained to us with the help of the International Prognostic Index that at her age and stage, she had a survival ratio of 56% over a 5-year period and advised us to definitely go for Chemotherapy treatment for the same. Lymphoma can be treated only through chemotherapy and is the advised route.
We now had to find out a right place and treatment for her.
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