Yes, it's past Thanksgiving, but it's never to late to say thanks to my Circle of Friends who have followed my true account of "Lymphoma". This is the final chapter (at last!) It's November '92 when it took place, yet it still feels like yesterday to me!
Chapter 10: Our First Thanksgiving in Hong Kong
Carmen and the girls returned in the last days of August, in time for the start of the new school year in September. I had two more doses in my treatment. Emotionally I have pretty much adjusted to the demands of chemotherapy, but physically I was progressively worn out by the nausea and vomiting and whatever damage the toxic chemicals were causing in my body.
This cocktail of drugs would target all growing cells in the body with little discretion. Because of the high amount of nitrogen waste produced (as a result of cell destruction), my urine took on the color of tea, and you can imagine the way it smelt because I am not going to describe it. As a large amount of uric acid was produced in my body, I had to take Allopurinol to prevent the onset of gout.
I had my last dose in late September. The nausea was probably the worst ever. My body was clearly pushed near its breaking point. Mentally, however, I was rejoicing with the knowledge that I have reached the end of the tunnel...there would be no more injections, no more vomiting...hurray!
Two weeks after my last dose, Dr. Lee saw me at my regular biweekly check-up. She got good news...
"Bob, your lymphoma is in remission," she began. "All clinical signs are negative. The CT scan reveals no suspicious lesions. You're, in medical terms, a well man."
"Oh, yes, Dr. Lee, I'm feeling well."
"In most cases of lymphoma, after chemotherapy we will follow with a course of radiation therapy. In your case, because you responded so well, we've decided that we will skip the radiation therapy. This will save you from unnecessary tissue damage."
"I'm happy to hear that, Dr. Lee," I said. "I think I have had enough damage already."
"You would come in for a monthly check-up for the next 24 months. We need to keep a close watch for any sign of relapse. The chance of relapse is highest within two years after chemotherapy. Then the chance decreases, and you can come in once a quarter."
"And then?"
"And then starting from the fifth year, you can come in once a year until the tenth year."
"So I'll be declared safe in ten years?"
"Well, we're getting way ahead of ourselves here, Bob. Let's just focus on the next two years, OK? Do you have any more questions?"
"Yeah, when will my hair grow back?"
"It shouldn't be long now. When it comes out, it will be very nice and luscious. Your will have more hair than ever before. You will be a handsome man again, Bob!"
"Good, Dr. Lee. I'm beginning to get tired of this wig."
My hair started to come out a few weeks later...with a vengeance! It was very dark, healthy and nicely textured. Within a couple of months, I had a full head of the nicest hair I had ever seen on my scalp.
Normally, we shed our hairs in rotation, so at any given time, we showed only 70-80% of all the hairs we had. Chemotherapy killed all my hairs at one go, so they became synchronized when they started to grow back. I had the fullest head of hair you could imagine for a man over forty. This "miracle", unfortunately, was short-lived as the hairs returned to their original shedding cycle soon afterward.
We always celebrated Thanksgiving when we lived in the States. For our first Thanksgiving in Hong Kong, we would like to bake a turkey like we always did in the States. Our problems were two-folded: first, we only had a microwave oven and it was not big enough for a whole bird; second, we couldn't find a single turkey in the food store! It turned out in Hong Kong almost everyone who wanted turkey would have to order it at a restaurant.
We really wanted to have a turkey dinner at home, so for a compromise, we bought some pre-cooked turkey ham in thick slices and served it with oyster dressing, yam, mashed potato and steamed broccoli. It got all the right colors but tasted nowhere near the turkey dinner that Carmen used to cook. Just the same, we enjoyed all the food and spent a wonderful evening together because we all had a great deal to be thankful for.