maybe i should play the lottery

based upon cases diagnosed during 2003-2007, the age-adjusted incidence rate for hodgkin's lymphoma is 2.7 per 100,000 women per year. of that 0.0027% population, approximately 5% exhibited the presentation of the disease i had (itching alone)... equating this situation to odds of 0.000135%. wow. maybe i should buy a powerball ticket this month. :)

our visit with the medical oncologist at dana farber was successful yesterday. unfortunately, he sees merit in considering radiation treatment following chemo. he explained that radiation may decrease my risk of recurrence by as much as 10%. the feasibility of radiation will depend on an appointment with a radiation oncologist at dana farber following the first two months of chemo. he will review my PET scan and determine if they can reach the cancer with radiation without risking contact with my heart and other 'important' things in that neighborhood. so, we'll see what happens. regardless, we're moving forward with two months of chemo. at that point, we'll do the PET scan and decide whether i'm in for either a) another four months of chemo, or b) another two months of chemo plus radiation. decisions, decisions!