A week ago, I wrote a diary just to get thing off my chest regarding my brother. You can find that diary here if you would like to read it.
I promised an update so I'm posting this for all who are interested. I can't thank you all enough for the support I got in the comments and emails. It helped so much to know people were praying for us and were there to share their stories and knowledge. You just don't know how much that meant.
New information after the jump....
After the oncologist meeting, we had a bit better idea of what was going on. We still didn't have all the info, but we had a bit more. More tests scheduled for Friday like a PET scan, Echo Cardiogram, and biopsy of the mass in his chest. After those tests on Friday the decision was made to admit my brother into the hospital.
The mass in his chest was 18cm and pressing against his lungs and heart. The doctors were all worried the mass would collapse one of the main veins leading to the heart and cause more problems. He was admitted on Friday afternoon for observation.
We spent that afternoon and evening with him he seemed to be in fairly good spirits. I can always tell when he's in a better mood because the sibling bickering and jabs come out more. When the nurse was asking questions about the medical history, she asked if his siblings had any medical conditions of note. He looked over at me, looked back at the nurse and said, with a straight face "yeah. baldness." It was good to hear him crack a joke after the last few days. It was a great ice breaker for everyone in the room.
Biopsy results came in today and I can't really say it any better than my brother did in his Facebook note, so I will just copy and paste.
so my biopsy came in today. i have non hodgkins lymphoma. its one of the best things i could have had considering my conditions and the other options. i am still having more tests done to see how bad this stuff has spread but i have a semi good chance of remission. so from here on out i will be under going more biospies and chemo to help kick this bitch in its ass. i will be in the hospital until the end of the week at best just to be sure that the chemo doesnt destroy all my stuff like kidneys and what not from the destruction of the lymphoma. i am hanging in strong so no worries there. ill be pretty messed up though come the next couple of days due to the testing and chemo but should be ok by wed. evening or maybe tomorrow night...who knows. i just know one thing
fIght CANcer
Not much more to say other than that. Tomorrow starts the first of his chemotherapy sessions. And he'll have another every 3 weeks from there. I'm sure I'll be up there for several taking care of him. Tough to imagine what it's like going through this at the age of 23.
Thanks all for the positive thoughts!