Yet another twist in the cancer journey.....as Mike Dougherty has told me many times, just when you think things are figured out, it all goes in a different direction.
Last Thursday I met with Dr. Karamlou, the oncologist, and just getting to the appt. was a gift from God. For those of you that aren't in the Portland area, you might not be aware of the severe winter weather we're experiencing and offices closing early due to frozen roads and other problems. Sure enough, the scheduler calls to tell me the 4:00 pm appt. was canceled and rescheduled for Jan. 8th....this was the last straw for me in a difficult week for cancer news and I lost it. In tears, I told her I just couldn't wait that long and she was very empathetic, squeezing me in at 2:oo pm. Thank you, God!
Dr. Karamlou is a delightful man, very thorough and he gave me information I hadn't anticipated. In short, he is not convinced the cancer has metastasized and could actually be two different adenocarcinomas. I won't go into the lengthy medical details, but, based on what he saw in the file (or didn't see, I guess) , he is reviewing all the pathology slides and talking with Dr. Karulf before we go further. It still could be one cancer that's metastasized, but until he's sure......we wait. As he explained to me, adenocarcinoma is a glandular cancer, not specifically a lung cancer and the progression from lung to pancreas (or vice versa) is unusual enough to warrant further checking. It still could be just the one cancer, but then again, it might not.
Now I'm thinking to myself "Always the overachiever, now you might have two cancers and how is this a good thing?". Pancreatic cancer is not a positive event, but having two separate cancers means that cancer hasn't metastasized and can be treated individually as two localized cancers....and that is a good thing.
Since treatment will differ greatly depending on Dr. Karamlou's findings, no protocol has been established yet. He expects to know by Monday morning and that will dovetail well with my appt. with Dr. Dubay, the UCSF oncologist on Monday afternoon.
Thursday evening I caught the last flight out of Portland to Oakland and my beloved posse (my brothers Matt and Mike, Kelli Ann (niece) and Mike Dougherty (Matt's best friend and someone dear to me and the person who set up all these UCSF appts in about a week!) went with me to see Dr. Mann, thoracic surgeon, at UCSF on Friday afternoon. Although we all would've hoped for a miracle procedure that would solve all this, Dr. Mann didn't have that to offer. After a thorough review of my file and films, he concurred with everything the Portland doctors have told me. He also agrees there is a definite possibility of two cancers vs. one and thinks Dr. Karamlou is wise to pursue this before a course of treatment is established. We talked at length about options re: chemo and radiation and why surgery just isn't warranted at this time. I'm grateful for his additional counsel and that's he's willing to continue to partner with the Portland group on my file.
It was great to have them all in the examination room with me and you know the McCormick clan.....even in the worst of circumstances, we find ways to make each laugh with our typical bizarre McCormick humor. Kelli must've rolled her eyes a dozen times at how we could joke about this cancer, but you know laughter is the best medicine and God gives us humor for a good reason!
They'll all be with me on Monday too when I meet with Dr. Dubay, the UCSF oncologist. Clearly, the next step is chemo/radiation and I'm ready to get started and kick some cancer butt :) I still feel good and that's a blessing!
Today and tomorrow is time with my loved ones and all the things I enjoy most - we're celebrating Christmas tomorrow and it will be lots of love, laughter, good food and sunshine (sorry, Portland crew, it's sunny and almost tropical here - 50 degrees!). God has blessed me in each and every moment and I take none of it for granted.
Take a moment for yourself and celebrate the blessings in your day, remembering the reason for this season - Jesus. Hug your loved ones, eat a holiday cookie or chocolate for me and find something that makes you smile! Also, ask yourself why AJ Burnette and CC Sabathia would ever sign with the Yankees....oh wait a minute, that's a conversation for another day. :)
Love and hugs to everyone, thanks for being a part of my posse wherever you are!
Susan
PS - Just so the cancer doesn't consume, let's concentrate on one of my favorite subjects. Here's a question for you baseball trivia buffs. It's one that stumped me....Name each position player that won the MVP back-to-back (includes National and American leagues). There are numerous outfielders (i.e., Barry Bonds) that can claim this honor, but only one player per position in the infield. Send me your answers at subedoo_2000@yahoo.com (or call me) and, if you're correct, I'll send you a treat!
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