Laurie Poegel

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We ask that our family and friends use this as the means of communication as we are muddling our way through this battle.  It all started with a slip getting off the lawnmower and a bruise. That bruise never got better and almost a year later we knew something was wrong. At the tailend end of spring this year, a rash on my neck showed up and it was thought to be a case of hives. The rash cleared and then in early June there were noticable lumps in my left groin area that swelled and later went away after a few weeks. Eventually those lumps came back and were getting bigger. Now this became much more serious and at the end of July into the early part of August the doctors decided to biopsy the lump, which was an enlarged lymph node. The biopsy results were passed from one medical facility to another and before we knew it was down at the Mayo for pathology. The biopsy showed it was cancer but it was hard to tell what kind, so the doctors needed to biopsy again. The second round of biopsies of the swollen lymph node and the never ending brusie on the left ankle revealed the answer we had been waiting for. Local doctors consulted with each other and our family, which resulted in a referral to the Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota.  At Rochester we started with blood work and a CT scan with contrast on September 11, 2019. On September 12th we met with an oncologist to revealed the cancers name, which ended up being blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm which in short they called multiple myeloma. At this point we learned that this was a type of rare blood cancer and it was aggressive. The oncologist explained that this type of cancer is very hard to diagnosis but one particular marker from the biopsies really narrowed it down. The oncologist said that there is hope that we can do something about this and we have a few options but they are limited due to the rare nature of this cancer. He has seen 2 cases in his 30 years.  The oncologist made a few calls to some other doctors in the hematology department that specialize in blood cancers. From here we are waiting to for the next steps, which includes an appointment at the mayo on september 17th. My family is currently trying to digest all of this right now, so we apologize if we have been hard to reach for conversation. Please keep us in your prayers and stay tuned for an update after our next appointment. October 2020 update: Cancer is back after just a short remission. Good news its not in bone marrow this time but doctors are unsure if it is still in blood and skin. We have been advised by doctors in Rochester to go to a cancer treatment center in Houston, Texas, which specializes and is leading the fight against Laurie's rare form of cancer. Not sure what will happen from here but travel expenses and medical costs could be rapidly approaching and her family could use some help again. Thanks again for all the love and support!