As I said in a previous update, just when you think things are figured out, off they go in another direction! When I wrote on the 24th, I thought I'd be housebound for the holiday because of the snow, but as it turns out, I was able to go to Christmas Eve service due to a break in the weather and my dear friend Annie's 4 wheel drive SUV. She got us there with not too much slipping and sliding! And on Christmas Day, Mom was delivered to my doorstep by my cousin (and his 4 wheel drive) and several friends battled the elements to bring food, fun and lots of laughter. It was a really fun day. Hope yours was just as nice.
Talked with Dr. Karamlou today and he confirmed his earlier suspicions - I do have two separate cancers, one in the lungs and one in the pancreas. What was interesting about this is he says it appears that the cancers are not both adenocarcinomas - the pancreas cancer is adenocarcinoma, but the lung is likely a squamous cell carcinoma. Evidently, it looks similar to adenocarcinoma, but is not the same. The pancreatic tissue sample was quite small though and he did say they may want to re-sample it. Dr. Karamlou will be contacting both doctors Jaswari (pancreatic endocrinologist) and Tsen (surgeon) to work out the plans for the next steps. Drs. Mann and Dubay (UCSF) had both said if it turns out to be two separate cancers and the nodule in the pancreas can be removed surgically first, that would be good. For this to work, it would have to be a surgery I can recover quickly from (i.e., a laparoscopy type surgery with a 1-2 week healing time) as an extended healing period would delay chemo and radiation too much. Now I wait to hear for the next steps, but once again, we're moving in a slightly different direction. It's very weird to think that two separate cancers are the better option, and clearly, pancreatic and lung cancers are not good, but this does mean the cancer has not metastasized and that is a good thing.
I was given another gift in all this...my friend Melinda is good friends with a nurse up at OHSU and this nurse (Marty) works with Dr. Brett Shepard, one of their leading pancreas doctors. She told him about my situation and he said he'd be happy to review my file as a 3rd opinion, at no charge. What an amazing blessing.
That's all for now, stay tuned for the next episode! Time for some ibuprofen and off to bed - spent 2 1/2 hours digging my car out from under all the snow and shoveling the driveway clear today and found a few new muscles in the bargain :) Still feeling good, overall, and grateful for the blessings of each day.
Take good care, hugs to all,
Susan
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2 comments:
Hi Susan,
This is your Uncle Gene with the Rodriquez's, Nollers, and the McCormicks to watch Kendall play in a basketball tournament. We won and Kendall scored 15 pts as the leading scorer. We had a group picture after the game and our entire focus and prayers are on you. Know that you"re in our thoughts and prayers every day and we trust the Lord for a complete recovery.
Love,
Uncle Gene
Susan,
How embarrassing to say that just today I have figured out how to post a comment after reading your wonderful blogs. Well, the content of some of them could be improved... 2 cancers? really? Man. I've got a bunch of books on tape I've ordered from places for you when the chemo starts. Let's go get that cancer and turn you into a survivor that can encourage others! You are already an encouragement to me to celebrate the small things. 2008 I felt rather distracted much of the time, and your blogs make me want to slow down and focus on the important stuff. With love, admiration and prayer, Melissa (keeping your place warm at Davidson's)
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