Here we go again

Almost immediately after I left Dr. L's office a few weeks ago,  I noticed a thickness behind my left ear.  I was really enjoying ignoring it but it is growing, is hot, and itches.  So at Mom's urging, I made an appointment with Dr. L which happened to be today.

He agrees there is something there and it is weird.  We also agreed it is behaving exactly like the one in my eyebrow behaved a few years ago.  It started at a small "BB" and then got mooshy and flat and big.  He said anyone else, he wouldn't think it was a tumor but with my history, we agreed it probably was....dammit.

So we are going to watch it for a few weeks.  If it starts growing fast, we will move faster but for now, we want to see what it is going to do.  We will probably biopsy it eventually to determine what grade it is.  Then we will figure out a treatment plan.  If it is aggressive like the eyebrow one was, we will have a much more serious and aggressive approach.  If it is still slow growing like it was long ago, we can have less aggressive treatment.

It is always hard to ramp up for treatment again and of course, it is always disappointing to learn your cancer has returned. But I also know my kind of Lymphoma will always come back.  I've had a solid 2 years cancer free.  I choose to be focused on the positives.  I've been living a pretty charmed life for 13 years with cancer, my body always seems to respond well to treatment, I have one of the best doctors around, and I am surrounded by people who love and support me.

I'm going to enjoy ignorance for 4 weeks and not give it much thought until I have too. During that time, I will gather my strength and be ready for whatever is around the corner.  So I'll share more information as it comes up.  In the meantime, lets play hard and run fast!