Recently in Patient Stories Category

If you're a caregiver, in the midst of your expanded role carrying intense emotions and challenges, it's vital that you learn to take care of yourself.

I've been an employee at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for almost 10 years. Not long after I began working here, I learned about the well-woman exams given through the Cancer Prevention Center - a mammogram, a pap smear and a good ol' general going-over was included, along with the bonus of an official blue M. D. Anderson patient card. At that time, it seemed to me that this card might be a handy thing to have in my hip pocket - just in case, you know.

Really and truly, I never dreamed that it would be me who would become an "employee with cancer." Why on earth would something like that happen to a nice girl like me? I had no notion that it ever would, but sure enough, it did.

In truth, it wasn't that coveted blue card that got me in the doors of M. D. Anderson. It was just a simple call for an appointment. Rumor has it that it's impossible to become a patient in this cancer center, but I'm here to tell you that this isn't so.

If you have cancer, and I will always pray that this doesn't happen to you, M. D. Anderson is the place you want to be. M. D. Anderson is currently (and consistently) ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 1 cancer center in the country - really in the world. M. D. Anderson knows all about cancer - the doctors, nurses and other staff here will give you the latest and greatest treatments available. Bottom line, you can count on M. D. Anderson.

I must be honest, my cancer journey has definitely been paved by my many friends here at the institution. But, it's an entirely different experience to walk through the front doors of Clark Clinic as a patient versus as an employee.

I'll never forget the first time I did that. I was greeted by a volunteer who I loved. She threw her arms out wide to hug me and said, "Ohhhhhhhh, Gail." I walked a few steps forward and ran into my favorite UT policeman, James. "Miss Gail, what's this I've been hearing about you?" he asked. Then, the other person in the elevator on the ride up to the Brain and Spine Clinic was another friend. My family was astonished and couldn't believe that I knew all of these people. M. D. Anderson is a huge place, you see.

But, if you want to know the truth, M. D. Anderson is a warm, caring family. The folks here usually take care of you like one of their own. Like I said before, brain cancer was never something that I expected to happen to me, but it's been a great way to expand my list of loved ones.

The New York Times article by Gina Kolata -- Forty Years' War, A Place Where Cancer Is the Norm -- made my heart swell with pride to be part of the M. D. Anderson team and my eyes well with tears for those whose struggles she wrote about.

I think about the thousands of patients I have had the honor to care for over the last 30 years. I wish Kolata could have met my patient Dorothy.

Flashback to 1979, I was a new oncology nurse at M. D. Anderson when I met this 38-year-old, petite and strikingly beautiful brunette who had advanced cervical cancer. Her doctors at home told her that she had only one year to live.

Dorothy came to M. D. Anderson searching for treatment that would allow her to live to see her 10-year-old daughter graduate from high school. She entered a clinical trial receiving intra-arterial chemotherapy using a then-new drug named Cisplatin. Dorothy received this drug for four months. It wasn't for the weak of heart. She lost her hair, vomited and was exhausted for two weeks after the chemotherapy was completed. Just as she began to feel "normal," it was time for the next round of therapy. Then the treatment regimen was complete. 

For the next five years or so, I saw Dorothy when she returned for her doctor's visits. We'd share stories about our families while she anxiously awaited her test results. After her doctor would give her the results of yet another "clean" CT scan, she would give us a hug and huge sigh of relief.

Dorothy beat her cancer with what I think Kolata would call "unconventional treatment." For Dorothy, this was a clinical trial.  

By Tomise Martin, Staff Writer

When Patrick Williams was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme, the three constants he'd always cherished -- family, laughter and colleagues -- helped him cope.

A 27-year veteran of the fire department in Ocean Spring, Miss., he recalls feeling lightheaded and unable to find his balance one day after a staff meeting.

"I couldn't focus, and I needed to brace against a wall for support," Williams recalls. "All I wanted was to go home and take a nap."

Luckily a friend and colleague, trained as a registered nurse, noticed Williams' difficulty and quickly reacted.

"Initially, he and I joked about me slowing everyone down," Williams says. "The banter turned to concern once he heard my symptoms."

As the colleague was taking him to a local hospital, Williams had a seizure. Tests showed he had a brain tumor and would need surgery. It was unknown whether the tumor was cancerous or non-cancerous.

"When anyone mentions cancer, my family thinks of M. D. Anderson," Williams says. "There was no question about my next step."

His first appointment
Days later, surrounded by a group of friends and family, Williams arrived for his first M. D. Anderson appointment.

His surgeon, Sujit Prabhu, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, told him the tumor was stage IV glioblastoma multiforme, the most common form of brain cancer, and was located in his right parietal lobe. Prabhu explained that the side effects from surgery could include blurry vision, impaired spatial orientation and headaches.

Three days later, Williams emerged from surgery unable to see images to the far left.

"If a board read 'nurse manager,' I would only see 'n rs  m nager,'" Williams says.

Although Prabhu described the possible side effects very clearly, Williams felt unprepared for the outcome. He still considers the experience unreal.  

Multidisciplinary care
With a team of brain cancer experts, including a neurosurgeon, neuro-oncologist and a radiation oncologist, Williams benefited from M. D. Anderson's multidisciplinary approach to cancer care.

After surgery, he met with Monica Loghin, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neuro-Oncology. She checked his neurological functions and discussed the remaining treatment options -- chemotherapy, radiation and clinical trials.

"With chemotherapy and radiation still available, I had no desire to try the third option," Williams says.

Loghin prescribed Temodar® (temozolomide), an oral therapy found to be effective for some patients with glioblastoma multiforme, and referred Williams to Anita Mahajan, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncoloy, for radiation therapy.

To complete his radiation treatments, Williams moved to Houston. While the side effects of treatment were hair loss and nausea, his spirits stayed high with frequent family outings and dining at his favorite restaurants.

Try, try again
During a follow-up appointment with Loghin about six weeks later, Williams learned that the brain cancer had not responded to chemotherapy. As a result, he chose to join a Phase II clinical trial studying the effectiveness of XL184, an investigational drug, on glioblastoma multiforme.

In January 2009, he received the good news that some tumors had disappeared or stopped growing.

Life as a brain cancer survivor
Life has changed. Williams has retired as fire chief of the Ocean Springs fire department and his energy level has dropped. But his vision has cleared enough so he's able to drive again on a limited basis.

"I plan activities with their needed recovery time," Williams says. "One day of fishing is followed by two days of rest."

But he doesn't let these new details hamper life. He's usually cracking jokes or surrounded by his friends and family. A brother-in-law always accompanies him to follow-up appointments, which are every four weeks.

"I'm fortunate to have the love and support of my family," Williams says. "Life is what you make of it. I choose to live mine filled with laughter and surrounded by my loved ones."

Related article:
Q&A: Coping With a Brain Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

M. D. Anderson resource:

Brain and Spine Center

Additional resources:
Brain Tumors (American Cancer Society)

Brain Tumor (NCI)

What I didn't know on April 1 when this cruel April Fool's Day joke (I wish!) was played on me, is that the State of Texas has a law that prohibits anyone who has had a seizure from driving for six months or until they are seizure free.

On that day, April 1, I did have a seizure. Actually, what happened is that I stopped talking, which is pretty unusual for someone like me. When I didn't respond to a colleague's urging to leave for a meeting, when all I did was smile, she knew that something wasn't right. Lucky for me that she called an ambulance. Unlucky for me that I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Lucky for me that I work at M. D. Anderson.

It didn't take long for me to be lined up with a team - a surgeon with "golden hands" and a well-respected oncologist. Individually, they met with me and my enormous family support team, each for over an hour. By the time the day was done, it was determined that I did indeed have a brain tumor and that the first thing to do was to get it out of my head.

So what does one do when faced with something like that? Well, in good M. D. Anderson style, I continued to work up until two days before the scheduled surgery. I wasn't frightened. I have been drinking this M. D. Anderson Kool-Aid for almost 10 years and I knew I was in good hands. The aspect of being operated on in our state-of-the-art BrainSUITE was exciting and at least I didn't have to be awake.

The people who were frightened were all the members of my family. My husband, my children, my parents, my sisters, well, everyone. My colleagues at work couldn't believe it. All my other friends were shocked, too. Six months out, I think I can also say that I was surprised - I never expected anything like this to happen to me.

But today, October 1, is a really good day. I've turned some kind of invisible corner in the last few days. I feel good. I can work. I have goals to accomplish. Best of all, I can drive!

 Read more about Gail and her treatment on GBG is a Brainiac

By Dawn Dorsey, Staff Writer

Cancer has been playing hide-and-seek with Patsy Lofton for 17 years, traveling from her breast to her lung, spine and brain.

Over the years she's tried many treatments, some more successful than others. Now, she's hoping a recent Gamma Knife radiosurgery procedure at M. D. Anderson will help slow the growth of the cancer in her brain.

Breast cancer began the saga
In 1992, Lofton, who lives in central Mississippi, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy (surgical removal of the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue), radiation and chemotherapy and felt lucky she had caught the cancer before it spread.

But three years later, she began to have a pain in her back, just under her shoulder blade.

"I had a feeling the cancer was back," Lofton says. "But after you've had cancer, you think every little pain is cancer."

Cancer reappears in lung, spine
Unfortunately she was right; the cancer had reappeared in her lung. The tumor was surgically removed, and Lofton had two bone marrow transplants.

For nine years, she was free of cancer. Then it reared its head again, this time in her spine. Her radiologist referred her to M. D. Anderson.

"Since I was 50, still young the doctor said, he thought we might be able to just remove the two vertebrae where the cancer was," she says. "But to do that, we first had to treat the spine with radiation."

Surgeries take their toll
After the radiation, surgeons removed T3 and T4, two vertebrae in the middle of her back.

"It's been a pretty tough adjustment, and it still affects me," says Lofton, who's now 55. "I can't do very much, and my shoulders hurt a lot. Everything below and above the vertebrae that were removed has to work extra hard to compensate."

Before she was completely healed from the surgery, Lofton slipped and fell as she was leaving a restaurant. She broke her ankle and heel and was in a wheelchair for four months, requiring two surgeries.

Procedure hones in on tumor
Last year, a PET (positron emission tomography) scan revealed several small spots on Lofton's brain and lung. Doctors treated the spots on her brain with radiation, but 10 months later another PET scan revealed two new spots. That's when they decided to try Gamma Knife.

A Gamma Knife procedure is neither a knife nor surgery. It's a type of radiation treatment that delivers highly focused, high-intensity rays to a tumor with little damage to healthy tissue.

Gamma Knife causes little pain
Although the procedure might sound scary, Lofton explains it calmly. She says she felt only minor discomfort.

"They drilled two little holes in my skull: two in front and two in back," she explains. "Then they fitted a metal, locking mechanism called a halo on my head to keep it straight and still during the procedure. First they did an MRI, then the procedure, which lasted about 40 minutes."

Lofton was awake during the procedure, but she was lightly sedated.

"After they removed the halo, I had to sit for about an hour, and then I was dismissed," she says. "They asked me to stay in town overnight, and I went home the next day."

"The only side effect has been a little discomfort and two small knots where they drilled the holes to fit the halo."

Treatment continues for lung cancer
Lofton returns to M. D. Anderson every three months for MRIs of her brain, and the tumors seem to have stopped growing. She still receives chemotherapy for lung cancer, but she's able to do that at a facility about two hours from her home.

Recently, a small spot appeared on her liver.

"The doctor says that's the least of my worries," Lofton says. "But we're keeping an eye on it."

Battle influences her attitude
How does Lofton keep going? She attributes it in large part to family, including her husband of 30 years and a grandchild who lives a little over an hour away.

After fighting a formidable enemy for so many years, Lofton has developed a fairly easygoing attitude.

"I ask a lot of questions and learn what I can," she says. "But, in the end, the cancer's either going to come back or it's not."

Related articles:
Q&A: Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery for Brain Tumors

M. D. Anderson resources:

Breast cancer

Lung cancer

Brain cancer

Division of Radiation Oncology


Additional resources:

Detailed Guide: Brain/CNS Tumors in Adults (American Cancer Society)

Brain Tumor (National Cancer Institute)

Patient Information - North America (Elekta)

By Tomise Martin and Dawn Dorsey, Staff Writers

Growing up in Louisiana, Roger Giles ate plenty of farm-fresh vegetables. But, true to Southern cooking traditions, they often were fried in bacon grease and served with high-fat foods like buttered cornbread and biscuits.

"When I graduated from high school, I was athletic and weighed 195 pounds," Giles says. "But, as I entered my early adult years, I started having 'yo-yo' weight gain. By my mid-50s, my weight had ballooned to the 270-plus range."

Pain was the first sign
Last year, Giles had two attacks of acute pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas that frequently is painful. When he felt the symptoms returning in October, he went back to the doctor, hoping for some answers.

"We did a lot of tests, but none of them were conclusive," he says. "They couldn't find the problem, and I really wanted to know what was going on. We suspected cancer, so I went to
M. D. Anderson." Giles was admitted to M. D. Anderson on Dec. 15, and two weeks later he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer.

Diagnosis was not a shock
"To be quite honest, I wasn't the least bit surprised," he says. "I recognized I had some kind of serious problem internally; I just didn't know what it was."

To treat the cancer, Giles had eight weekly treatments of chemotherapy, followed by six weeks of daily radiation treatment.

"From the beginning, my sole goal has been to attack this disease with the most aggressive treatment available," he says.

Weight, cancer are linked
In addition, Giles participated in a study at M. D. Anderson that showed a relationship between high body mass index (BMI) and pancreatic cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. More than 42,400 people will be diagnosed with this disease, and more than 35,400 will die from it this year.

He's found the right weight
When the pancreatitis hit last fall, Giles weighed 272 pounds. Within a week, he started losing weight at an alarming rate.

"I was losing a pound a day; within four weeks I lost more than 20 pounds," he says. "I couldn't eat solid foods because the pain was excruciating, and I put myself on Ensure to maintain nutrition."

Now, after losing even more weight during treatment, Giles' weight has leveled off at 185 pounds, and he says he feels comfortable there.

"My diet has changed drastically," he says. "I've lost 90 pounds. I'm at a healthy weight, and I understand the importance of staying fit."

It's time to change
Giles has always enjoyed gardening, and now it serves as more than just a favorite pastime that occupies his thoughts during and between treatments. It contributes to his diet and is a reminder to be healthy.

These days, he sticks to a low-fat diet built on fresh vegetables from his garden and stays active. He's also on somewhat of a one-man mission to convince people of the importance of healthful eating.

"Statistics say more than half the people in our country are overweight," he says. "It's time we awakened to that fact. As a nation, we all need to change the way we eat, especially fast food, and high-fat and high-calorie diets. It's an ongoing struggle."

Related article:
Q&A: Pancreatic Cancer and Obesity

M. D. Anderson resources

Pancreatic Cancer

Gastrointestinal Cancer Center


Additional resources
Pancreatic cancer (National Cancer Institute)

By Tomise Martin, Staff Writer

Once a radio station owner, talk show host and Texas senator, colorectal cancer survivor Mike Richards looks forward to a future enjoying life with his wife, children and eight grandchildren.

At 72, Richards has no physical restrictions and plenty of energy.

"I'm fortunate to enjoy my favorite pastimes still," Richards says. "I walk outside or on a treadmill about five times a week, and my wife and I recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with an Alaskan cruise. And I just returned from a month in Colorado."

Cancer comes calling

Healthy most of his life, Richards became concerned when he found himself short of breath from climbing just a few stairs and had abdominal pain.

When doctors found a tumor during a colonoscopy, Richards was referred to M. D. Anderson, where he was diagnosed with stage II colorectal cancer and scheduled for surgery. The tumor was removed in January 2006, and no additional therapy was needed. His surgeon was Lee Ellis, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Surgical Oncology.

About a year later, however, the cancer had metastasized (spread) to his liver. In March 2007, Richards had surgery to remove tumors from his liver, followed by a six-month regimen of chemotherapy.

More people live to tell the tale

Survivors of metastatic colorectal cancer (colorectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) are becoming more common.

To better understand this increase, investigators decided to study databases of metastatic colorectal patients, says Scott Kopetz, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at M. D. Anderson and the study's senior author.

In the study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kopetz and his team found the overall survival rates for metastatic colorectal cancer patients like Richards had tripled since two distinct occurrences in treating the disease:

•    Increased use of liver resection (surgery to remove part of the liver)
•    Advancements in chemotherapy

Large patient sample examined

Researchers analyzed data from tumor registries at two institutions. These included:

•    1,614 patients at M. D. Anderson
•    856 patients at Mayo Clinic

Patients were diagnosed between 1990 and 2006 with follow-up through 2008.

As a comparison, 45,459 metastatic colorectal cancer patients from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database were evaluated. These patients were diagnosed between 1990 and 2005.

Data show good news

Prior to 1990, when the combination of two drugs, 5-FU and leucovorin, was the sole therapy, overall survival for metastatic colorectal cancer patients was eight to 12 months.

Survival for patients diagnosed in 1990 through 1997 increased to 14.2 months.

Since then, survival has continued to increase. It was:

•    18 months in 1998 through 2000
•    18.6 months in 2001 through 2003
•    29.3 months in 2004 through 2006

Better treatments, surgery make a difference

Overall five-year survival showed a similar increase. It was:

•    9.1% for patients diagnosed from 1990 through 1997
•    13% for patients diagnosed from 1998 through 2000
•    19.2% for patients diagnosed from 2001 through 2003

The five-year survival rate is not available yet for people diagnosed after 2003, but Kopetz projects it will be approximately 30%.

"This is a dramatic change in survival that can compare to the success story for breast cancer 10 years ago," Kopetz says. "The efforts to develop and use better chemotherapies, as well as better identify patients for liver surgery, contribute to these findings."

Cancer worry decreases

Since completing chemotherapy in September 2007, Richards has been free of cancer.

"I feel great," he says. "My cancer diagnosis doesn't cross my mind until I have my follow-up every six months. I've done everything I could to beat this disease. Without my faith and the great team at M. D. Anderson, I wouldn't be here today."


M. D. Anderson resources:

Advances in the Treatment of Colon Cancer

Colon cancer

Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology


Additional resources:

Journal of Clinical Oncology


Colon and Rectal Cancer  (National Cancer Institute)

Cyclists from Cheniere's "Making Cancer History Race Across America" team celebrated Christmas in July with pediatric cancer patients from the Children's Cancer Hospital. Former RAAM team member Kirk Gentle and the cycling team's pedal partner and neurofibromatosis patient Emily Parker were at the celebration to encourage the young patients. 


Race Across America is one of the most challenging endurance races in the world, as a symbolic demonstration of how teamwork, research, persistence and ingenuity can triumph over obstacles such as neurofibromatosis. This year's effort was part of an annual campaign that coordinates multiple fundraising events in support of cancer research, treatment and education at M. D. Anderson.

By Patricia Wells, program director, Family-Centered Care, Department of Pediatrics

In a story about patient safety concerns that was released last week by Hearst Newspapers, the reporter discussed how hospitals are "slow to adopt life-saving practices." The statistics are startling and the solutions seem clear cut, but the fact remains that caring for patients in a busy hospital or medical center is stressful and complex, and even the best hospitals fall short.

Every hospital stay is managed by a team of professionals, but the most important member of your health care team is YOU, the patient and your family.  

Patients and family members who become active partners in health care can help prevent medical errors. In 2002, the Joint Commission launched the national "Speak Up" initiative to urge patients to take a role in preventing health care errors by becoming active, involved and informed participants on the health care team.

Here are a few simple things you can do as you become a more active member of your own health care team:

•    Ask questions. Every question about your health is important. If you still don't understand, ask again.
•    Write down your concerns and take them with you to your doctor visits. Keep a diary or journal of how you're feeling.
•    Know your medications. Whether you are home or in the hospital, know your medications -- the names and what they do. Every time a physician writes a prescription or a nurse brings in a medication, ask what it is and what it's for.
•    Know who is entering your hospital room. Know the members of your health care team -- who they are and what they do.

While it's clear that advances like electronic prescription pads, bar-coded patient ID bracelets and electronic medical records will be an important step in helping reduce hospital errors, nothing takes the place of your active participation in your own health.

Resources

More tips on Surviving your hospital stay (CNN)

The Joint Commission Speak Up initiative

AARP My Personal Medication Record

By Mary Brolley, Staff Writer
Nearly 10 years after her diagnosis with breast cancer, Mary Kay Dauria vividly remembers her 7-year-old daughter's reactions to her illness. When friends or acquaintances saw Dauria after the diagnosis, they'd hug her, sometimes crying, and say, "I am so sorry."

"My daughter was watching all that, and she got very worried," Dauria recalls. "She asked me, 'Mommy, are you going to die?'"

"So I began to tell those who expressed condolences, 'Don't take me off your Christmas card list. I'm not going anywhere,'" she laughs.

And, just like every year since her diagnosis, Dauria will attend Anderson Network's Living With, Through and Beyond Cancer patient and caregiver conference Sept. 10-12 at the Houston Marriott Westchase.

A member of and volunteer for Anderson Network, Dauria chaired the conference in 2008. After a 25-year corporate career, she now works with nonprofits managing fundraising events and other projects.

This year's conference theme, "The Strength Within," acknowledges the inner resources and grace cancer patients and survivors like Dauria find essential for their journey and recovery. It also offers participants the opportunity to learn more about the issues cancer survivors face, meet and share with others, take wellness classes and have fun.

Speakers include NBC co-anchor and breast cancer survivor Hoda Kotb, M. D. Anderson clinical professor and cancer survivor Martin Raber, M.D., and humorist Charles Petty, Ph.D. The popular medical panel on Saturday morning will be led by M. D. Anderson President John Mendelsohn, M.D.

By Mary Brolley, Staff Writer

"Getting back on the horse" during and after cancer treatment was never a question for Dawna Harwell. A professional horse trainer for 25 years, the Collinsville, Texas, resident is often on the road, competing with one or more of the six horses she trains for their owners.

Just after she returned from a horse show last summer, Harwell went to her doctor with what she thought was a urinary tract infection. She was told she had kidney stones, and a CT (computed tomography) scan and ultrasound were ordered.

Diagnosis is elusive

That's when everything started to get complicated.

 "They told me they could see 'extra stuff' on the tests -- something that shouldn't be there," she remembers.

So started Harwell's long search for a definitive diagnosis, which led her from a gynecologist to a gynecologic oncologist to a lymphoma specialist.

Doctors suspect lymphoma

Eventually she decided to come to M. D. Anderson. After a few more weeks of diagnostic tests, she met Kathleen Schmeler, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, and Fredrick Hagemeister, M.D., professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma.

"They were 90% sure it was lymphoma, and they were right," she says. "It turned out to be follicular lymphoma."

Disease often has no symptoms

In many ways, Harwell's is a textbook case of follicular lymphoma, one of the most common types of B-cell lymphomas in the United States.

She had no symptoms, even though she was diagnosed with stage IV disease. A definitive diagnosis took many tests, three needle biopsies, abdominal surgery and countless trips to specialists over the course of many weeks.

According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are the seventh most common cancer in the United States. An estimated 65,000 Americans will be diagnosed with some type of this disease in 2009.

Nearly a quarter of them will have one of the follicular types of lymphoma, so called because of the appearance of the cells and the pattern of the rounded shape of the malignant lymphocytes. Follicular lymphomas generally are indolent (slow-growing). Most arise in the lymph nodes, commonly in the neck, chest, abdomen, tonsils and skin.

Recovery put her in the eye of the storm

Before Harwell could begin chemotherapy, she needed surgery. So on Sept. 12, 2008, Schmeler removed a mass from Harwell's ovaries, cervix and uterus.

It was a big day for Mother Nature, too. Harwell's surgery was the last performed at M. D. Anderson before Hurricane Ike hit Houston.

Harwell laughs about being "locked down" in the hospital to recover after surgery.

"It really wasn't bad," she says. "We never lost water or electricity. The only thing I noticed was we didn't get menus -- they just served the food they had."

Treatment caused uncomfortable side effects

After recuperating for six weeks, Harwell started a chemotherapy regimen called R-CHOP, which includes Rituxan® (rituximab), Cytoxan® (cyclophosphamide), Adriamycin® (hydroxyodoxorubicin), Oncovin® (vincristine) and prednisolone (a steroid).  

The treatment caused a serious reaction during her first treatment, which took 8½ hours.

"I had terrible itching and hives and welts all over my body, and my throat swelled shut," she says. "I'm so glad I was in the hospital."

After eight 21-day cycles of R-CHOP, followed by a course of Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) to boost her white blood cell count, Harwell began maintenance therapy this spring. For two years, she'll be treated with Rituxan® every three months.

Horses help her stay focused

Harwell says she feels well and has managed to continue her active life throughout the elusive diagnosis and intense treatment.

She missed only one horse show during her treatment. Once she recovered from surgery, she resumed work and traveling, and she believes this has helped her recovery.

"It gave me something to focus on," she says. "Horses have always been part of my life."

Tissue donation helps progress

Harwell happily donated some of her biopsied tissue to M. D. Anderson's Lymphoma Tissue Bank, which provides tumor samples for researchers at the institution and other cancer centers.

"I was delighted to help in any way I could," she says.

Related articles:

Q&A: Follicular Lymphoma
Tissue Donations Help Advance Research

M. D. Anderson resources
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Lymphoma and Myeloma Center