Troy's Lymphoma Fundraiser
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Troy was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 .
This is a rare form of Lymphoma that involves chromosomal abnormality. It was discovered early (Stage 1), and is treatable by some aggressive chemotherapy which is why he has to be hospitalized. He is unable to work and his wife, Carla, needs to maintain her full time job and care for their 8 month old baby, Amelia.
Troy will be hospitalized off and on for the next 12 weeks. He will be home for a few days between treatments. He will be undergoing 4 rounds that are dependent on his body's reaction to the aggressive treatment. So far the first round has worked like this. Round 1 looks like this: Day 1 enter hospital, Day 2-6 receive chemo in hospital, Day 7 release from hospital to go home, Day 8 or 9 receive meds at the Dr's office, Day 11-14 readmitted to hospital for more chemo, Day 15 released to go home. After waiting a week he will go in for 6 days for Round 2 and the 2nd set of chemo then wait 3 weeks before starting over with Round 3. Round 1 and 3 are the same and Rounds 2 and 4 are the same.
As long as his white blood cell count is good he will be able to continue on this schedule. If he isn't doing well he may spend more time in the hospital and less time at home.
Troy's family will need help paying for all of the costs associated with his care. He is covered under Carla's insurance, but some things are not covered and the expenses will be significant with all of the hospital stays and on one income. With an 8 month old baby and a fairly new house, they are already doing what they can to consolidate and cover all the bills.
Any help is greatly appreciated. It is not easy for the Wheeler family to ask for help, so please know that you are helping them in more ways than you know with your donation.
Troy's Diagnosis on May 5, 2015
About 6 weeks ago Troy was sick with a cold and went to the doctor to check for strep. The doctor gave him some cough medicine and told him to take Sudafed it was just a cold. When I got home from work, I noticed a lump on his neck. Thinking it was an enlarged lymph node from his cold we waited a couple days. When it did not change in size I asked him to go back to the doctor. His doctor gave him antibiotics and referred him to an ENT.
The ENT did a CT scan to check the lump and determine what it was. The CT scan didn't really show anything other than a lump the size of an orange. The next step was a needle biopsy. After these results it was determined to be cancer cells, Lymphoma. The pathologist needed a bigger sample to determine the type. There are 108 types of Lymphoma. The ENT removed a portion of the tumor on Troy's neck for further study.
We were referred to an Oncologist. The Oncologist did a bone marrow biopsy and a PET scan. Troy is fortunate that he has Stage 1 Lymphoma and the cancer is only in 1 lymph node in his neck. At the doctor's appointment on Tuesday, May 5, we were told it was Generic Large B Cell Lymphoma and that the treatment plan would be similar to what my mom had. Chemo in the office and then a shot the following day, blood work, wait 2 weeks and repeat. As we were leaving the office we were asked to come back to talk to the doctor.
The doctor then told us that the pathologist had more results and that it was actually a rare form called Burkitt's Lymphoma where there is a chromosomal mutation. He also told us that we had to treat it differently because it is so aggressive. Troy was told to go home and pack a bag and to go to the hospital to check in. We have been here since Tuesday. He started chemo on Wed and will continue until Sunday. On Sunday we may be able to go home if his white blood cell count is good. He will be home until Friday. He will go to the office on Wed for a shot and then he will come back to the hospital Friday through Monday. Hopefully he will get to go home Monday and the following Wed he will go to the office for another shot. This will complete 1 round.
He will have to go through 4 rounds. I am not sure how long it will be between rounds. He is also having some radiation in his spine, because this cancer likes to hide in the spine.
He is doing very well. The lump has decreased in size drastically. He is actually able to sleep now and is as comfortable as possible. Of course no one likes being a hostage in the hospital. He is not allowed to go too far because he cannot be exposed to any germs.
This is a rare form of Lymphoma that involves chromosomal abnormality. It was discovered early (Stage 1), and is treatable by some aggressive chemotherapy which is why he has to be hospitalized. He is unable to work and his wife, Carla, needs to maintain her full time job and care for their 8 month old baby, Amelia.
Troy will be hospitalized off and on for the next 12 weeks. He will be home for a few days between treatments. He will be undergoing 4 rounds that are dependent on his body's reaction to the aggressive treatment. So far the first round has worked like this. Round 1 looks like this: Day 1 enter hospital, Day 2-6 receive chemo in hospital, Day 7 release from hospital to go home, Day 8 or 9 receive meds at the Dr's office, Day 11-14 readmitted to hospital for more chemo, Day 15 released to go home. After waiting a week he will go in for 6 days for Round 2 and the 2nd set of chemo then wait 3 weeks before starting over with Round 3. Round 1 and 3 are the same and Rounds 2 and 4 are the same.
As long as his white blood cell count is good he will be able to continue on this schedule. If he isn't doing well he may spend more time in the hospital and less time at home.
Troy's family will need help paying for all of the costs associated with his care. He is covered under Carla's insurance, but some things are not covered and the expenses will be significant with all of the hospital stays and on one income. With an 8 month old baby and a fairly new house, they are already doing what they can to consolidate and cover all the bills.
Any help is greatly appreciated. It is not easy for the Wheeler family to ask for help, so please know that you are helping them in more ways than you know with your donation.
Troy's Diagnosis on May 5, 2015
About 6 weeks ago Troy was sick with a cold and went to the doctor to check for strep. The doctor gave him some cough medicine and told him to take Sudafed it was just a cold. When I got home from work, I noticed a lump on his neck. Thinking it was an enlarged lymph node from his cold we waited a couple days. When it did not change in size I asked him to go back to the doctor. His doctor gave him antibiotics and referred him to an ENT.
The ENT did a CT scan to check the lump and determine what it was. The CT scan didn't really show anything other than a lump the size of an orange. The next step was a needle biopsy. After these results it was determined to be cancer cells, Lymphoma. The pathologist needed a bigger sample to determine the type. There are 108 types of Lymphoma. The ENT removed a portion of the tumor on Troy's neck for further study.
We were referred to an Oncologist. The Oncologist did a bone marrow biopsy and a PET scan. Troy is fortunate that he has Stage 1 Lymphoma and the cancer is only in 1 lymph node in his neck. At the doctor's appointment on Tuesday, May 5, we were told it was Generic Large B Cell Lymphoma and that the treatment plan would be similar to what my mom had. Chemo in the office and then a shot the following day, blood work, wait 2 weeks and repeat. As we were leaving the office we were asked to come back to talk to the doctor.
The doctor then told us that the pathologist had more results and that it was actually a rare form called Burkitt's Lymphoma where there is a chromosomal mutation. He also told us that we had to treat it differently because it is so aggressive. Troy was told to go home and pack a bag and to go to the hospital to check in. We have been here since Tuesday. He started chemo on Wed and will continue until Sunday. On Sunday we may be able to go home if his white blood cell count is good. He will be home until Friday. He will go to the office on Wed for a shot and then he will come back to the hospital Friday through Monday. Hopefully he will get to go home Monday and the following Wed he will go to the office for another shot. This will complete 1 round.
He will have to go through 4 rounds. I am not sure how long it will be between rounds. He is also having some radiation in his spine, because this cancer likes to hide in the spine.
He is doing very well. The lump has decreased in size drastically. He is actually able to sleep now and is as comfortable as possible. Of course no one likes being a hostage in the hospital. He is not allowed to go too far because he cannot be exposed to any germs.
Organizer
Carla Wheeler
Organizer
Lexington, SC
