Richard's blog

It must of been over a year ago, that we first noticed a small lump on my left temple. It did not hurt or itch and we thought that it must be just one of those fatty lumps, that come and go, or that my new glasses were causing an abrasion. However, the lump did not go away and grew from 5mm in diameter to about 10mm and it started to itch. In June 2007, I visted my GP who told me that it is probably nothing, as it was not on the surface of the skin, so we would keep an eye on it and see what it was doing on my next visit to the diabetic clinic in 6 months. In December 2007 I visited my GP and was told that I had to go onto Insulin, as my type II diabetes could no longer be treated with diet and tablets. He also made an appointment for me to see a dermatologist at our local hospital. I put off the insulin until the new year, but kept my appointment with the consultant dermatologist, who arranged for a biopsy on the lump. On the 1st February 2008 I started the insulin injections, not too bad. On the 8th February the consultant dermatologist diagnosed that the lump showed, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, beta-lymphocyes. I then had blood tests and a chest x-ray and booked a CT scan. The CT scan showed that other lymph nodes are affected, but I have not yet had a firm diagnosis. I met with the dermatolgy MDT, who told me that as it is a blood cancer I am suffering with, I need to be deferred to the haematolgy team. I saw the haematologist who confirmed the diagnosis, but as there are so many types a bone marrow test was required, in order to find out the exact type of lymphoma. This was carried out on the 22nd March and I will get the results on the 1st April. I apologise if this has been a lengthy explaination, but this has been the story so far. I will keep this blog updated as I go.