Hello from The San Francisco Peninsula

[wolfpv]

And yet another one....

I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with Stage 4 lung cancer. However, that diagnosis was based on symptoms (chest pains, shortness of breath, and a strange but seemingly unrelated sinus condition), and on Xray and CT scan. I was told there was virtually no possibility of another diagnosis. Told the wife. Told the kids. Told the co-workers. Had a very unpleasant week.

Then the CT "PET" scan came in, and called the diagnosis into some question. Then the biopsy. Oops, not cancer, but Wegener's. As I mentioned to my Rheumatologist, I'm one of the few who's really happy with the diagnosis.

To make a long story short, I went on Prednisone immediately, and my symptoms began to melt away. I (like many of you) read every available piece of information, literature, white paper, medical paper, study on the subject, and decided that Rituxan was the way to go. Had the perhaps usual fight with the insurance company... a battle I was going to, and did, win. I've now just completed the 4th and last infusion, and by Monday next I will be down from the initial dose of 60mg to 30mg of prednisone per day. All-in-all I feel great, and enormously optimistic, and haven't had too many prednisone related side-effects (well besides the appetite thing, and the hyper-active nervousness thing, and the leg and arm cramps, and the tendency to tell a lot more jokes than usual, and maybe...just maybe... being a bit snappy with my wife and kids). Incidentally, I have no clear signs of renal involvement at this time, nor any other Wegener's symptoms.

Oh, and a bit about me. I'm 66 (OK, 67 next week). Married for 30 years (but together for 48). Cathy is a retired urban planner. Two daughters, one 29 (just took the bar) the other 23 (a filmmaker). Accomplishments include an earlier government career, then sailed around the world, returned to build my own house, have kids, and build a manufacturing business with my sister - we now employ nearly 500 people. All in all a very good life so far, which I intend to hang onto for a long time, Wegener's or not.

So that's it in a nutshell. I'll be checking in on occasion, and anyone with questions for a newbie is welcome to contact me.

-Steve