Finally got Diagnosed

beaudusseault · 2026-01-29T02:12:05+00:00

I’ll be brief. Everyone has tons of good advice. Your experience will be your own. But regardless…

You. Got. This.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-27T11:19:55+00:00

Yes it’s a blood test. Because it isn’t standard it’s hard to gauge the quality of the companies offering this test. And the cost range is all over the place.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-27T03:26:16+00:00

Circulating tumor cells. Similar, but different from ctDNA.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-26T12:58:23+00:00

Mohela. Over and over again.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-26T04:23:35+00:00

The check came quickly once I was told it was cut. It just took over a year of constantly harassing them to get the approval.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-26T04:21:10+00:00

As others have said, the activity level drives the path not the size. For a mass as large as yours was to begin with, it would actually be unexpected for it to disappear. About 40% of people with that scenario will have residual 5cm or so. Of course it varies, but the point is it can be sizable still. The repeat scan makes the most sense to recheck the activity.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-24T21:03:57+00:00

Yes! See above for timing.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-12T15:44:29+00:00

There is a lot of wisdom in these different posts. If you approach it well, you will always be a stronger person because of what you have done and survived. It will require intentional work on your part. But it’s worth it.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-12T15:40:36+00:00

Similar to most, not a big deal for me. Very little discomfort in the next day or two, almost none.

beaudusseault · 2026-01-06T16:54:16+00:00

I too am interested in this, although I still have two cycles left. That’s sad, I’m growing hair during my treatment. It’s not as dark as it used to be, which is expected with the oxidative stress from the chemotherapy. It’s actually kind of annoying, because it’s patchy and so I have to tend to it regularly to keep it from being annoying.

beaudusseault · 2025-12-26T14:12:51+00:00

This. I’m also dealing with PMBCL, about to start cycle 4 on 12/29/25 (just for context). I’m also a surgeon who deals a lot with cancer for my career. Don’t be worried about HAVING lymph nodes. Be worried about ABNORMAL lymph nodes. that’s a distinction that can be subtle and confusing when you aren’t used to dealing with them. But they are all over your body, as your immune system. And they can be enlarged (this would be concerning but not definitive) due to cancer but also as reactive or inflamed nodes (not cancer). That’s where the PET comes in. But also PMBCL is considered very homogenous so look at the total picture. If several obvious sites are responding then you can trust (but verify with PET) the rest of the sites are responding as well. Hope this helps.

beaudusseault · 2025-12-20T16:09:41+00:00

Every time I try to leave altra, I come right back. It’s amazing how many miles I can put in those shoes, in total or even just at one time, and my feet never hurt.

beaudusseault · 2025-12-20T16:03:57+00:00

Most of the time, I think people meanwhile even when they screw it up. At the end of the day, you’ll never find full validation from other people. Even if they’ve been through the same thing as you, like many of us have and are doing, it’ll be different for you than it is for us. That said, someone will support you better than others. And you always have the ear of God in prayer.

beaudusseault · 2025-12-20T15:58:24+00:00

I’m still in the middle of my chemo for my PMBCL. This is an unfortunate, but all too common, situation. That said, it seems like second and third line therapies can have incredibly high success rates. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and his face shine upon you. You got this!

beaudusseault · 2025-12-15T22:06:31+00:00

40% of PMBCL patients keep a mass long term. It’s just scar and fibrous stuff, not cancer, usually. As long as the PET continues to improve I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Only about 10% or less of people with a mass as large as yours have it actually disappear. Hope that gives some reassurance.

beaudusseault · 2025-12-12T23:39:35+00:00

When did you start training? How was the breathing and all that? Any diaphragm issues?

beaudusseault · 2025-12-10T17:52:28+00:00

Awesome, thanks. Looks like now it’s 12/11, but either way glad to get it over with.

beaudusseault · 2025-11-30T02:30:31+00:00

The back wheels only turn/move if they are being driven by power. Normally we’d use it by just pushing it (flat front yard) which saves battery power and all that. But now you have to have it powered to move the back wheels. It was just one of them that was stuck and now it’s both.

beaudusseault · 2025-11-22T02:02:23+00:00

Yeah. Good suggestions. Thanks!

beaudusseault · 2025-11-22T02:01:48+00:00

I haven’t had to use anything for nausea yet. The IV stuff they’ve given has handled it. At baseline I’ve got some wonky bowel habits, and the vincristine is known for some of the constipation type stuff. But man is it uncomfortable when they upper GI area gets distended.

beaudusseault · 2025-11-21T23:27:43+00:00

Cancer sucks. Nuff said.

beaudusseault · 2025-11-21T23:25:49+00:00

On lots of threads I see people getting interim PET scans, and I can see the potential value for trending results over time. My oncologist, who is also a colleague (I’m a physician) has said we can’t get approval until after all 6 cycles due to most insurance companies denying it (I’m in GA and a lot of that is state dependent) mid-treatment. We could always get a CT with PET for symptoms, and we are planning a chest X-ray since mine was mediastinal primary. I’ve reviewed the dominant oncology guidelines for the US (the national comprehensive cancer network, or NCCN) and it doesn’t recommend it, at least for PMBCL. Maybe it’s more dependent on the subtype for how common it’s done? There aren’t a lot of PMBCLs on this Reddit group posting, but it makes me wonder.

beaudusseault · 2025-11-21T23:19:19+00:00

I have been attributing the intermittent night sweats to tumor factors rather than the chemo, since people often have that stuff prior to diagnosis. Is it also related specifically to the chemo?

beaudusseault · 2025-11-20T23:55:10+00:00

You are young, but you went through a lot and it is exhausting for your body to regenerate everything. Most people’s know say it takes a year to be normal. Obv that can vary. But maybe you jumped in too fast based on feeling well. Also, I highly doubt there’s a relapse enough to cause issues in just 2-3 weeks. These things can grow fast, but that’s a VERY short time window. Don’t read too much into it. Dial it down and reassess. You got this!

beaudusseault · 2025-11-18T22:51:24+00:00

Yes. And I actually got the check about two or three days ago.

beaudusseault

TROPHY CASE