Post Biopsy Update

It has been a long two weeks and I know the posts have been brief. 

Here was my outfit going into my biopsy:

I figured I needed to channel my kindred spirit. I know she is fighting her own battles right now but I feel that we are aligned! I had an epidural to relief some of the pain. I woke up to two IVs. It was hard to wake up to no one around. Stupid COVID! I did talk to my mom on the phone but it wasn't the same.

The surgeon had spoken to my mom and then made a plan to share the news with me. He did get the hospital to make a special exception to come be with me when he met with me. 

WARNING: The news was not good so read on being warned....

The biopsy revealed that the PET scan activity on my lungs and heart was indeed the Mesothelioma. The lining of lungs has evidence of cancer all of both of them, described as looking like shrapnel. There is also cancer growth along the right side of my heart. This means the surgery that was planned to handle the cancer in the abdomen is off the table.

I know I have told everyone to stay off the Internet related to this cancer but having this in the abdomen was rare but having it in the heart is extremely rare. One of the surgeons let my mom know that there are 100 documented cases of what I have so I am in a very small group of individuals but this just means that when I help them find a cure, maybe I can help name it!

While the week was pretty defeating both mentally and physically, we did get some good news. During the surgery there was something seen on my pulmonary valve. They were no sure if it was a blood clot, a tumor, or something else. Cardio was called in immediately and within a few hours ruled out that I had something extra going on. They think it may just be something left from a past infection or something but no cause for alarm. 

My oncologist was out of town the week of my biopsy but even though he was traveling, he reached out to me. We finally connected after a few attempts at 8:45 PM on Thursday night. He was calling to check to see how I was doing with the news and explain where he wanted to go. He decided he wanted to do three more chemo treatments (six is the most I can get of this treatment) while we look for a clinical treatment. He made an appointment to meet with me on Tuesday to talk about things in more detail and then have chemo on Wednesday.

My uncle came back to Florida so he and my mom took care of me. This also gave my mom an opportunity to go home for a few days over the weekend before we had to head to Mayo to meet with the doctor and begin chemo again.

For tonight . . . I'm just sayin' XOXO