"It's comin' on Christmas,
They're cuttin' down trees.
They're puttin' up reindeer,
singin' songs of joy and peace.
Oh, I wish I had a river
That I could skate away on."
Richard and the Doc have been heroically giving you all the spin that is the spin, and as a poet once said: the stones speak and I am silent. But I wanted to say that I'm here. And I wanted to update you on my ex-husband's treatment outlook, just received from my daughter, Boo, tonight.
A quote from her dad's e-note: " We met with the oncologist today. We meet with the surgeon tomorrow.So while the madmen tinker with our Big Blue Marble, as all proper evil reptilians do, the world for us tiny Sims keeps on a-turnin'. I read once the difference between the enlightened man (woman) and the unenlightened man (woman). It went sorta like this:
First things first....he said that my bone scan was clear, which means the cancer is only in the lung. He showed us the x-ray and said that the tumor is right at the line between the second and third lobes. In his opinion, this location would make it very difficult for the surgeon to remove the tumor without haing to take both lobes. BUT HE ALSO ADMITTED THAT HE IS NOT ALL THAT QUALIFIED TO SPEAK FROM A SURGICAL PERSPECTIVE, SO HE MIGHT BE ALL WRONG.
He said that the surgeon might say that there is "plenty of room" to take the tumor out without impacting the second lobe.
But the oncologost also said that, if the tumor IS affecting both lobes, that he (and most likely the surgeon as well) would recommend chemo and radiation to try and reduce its size before surgery and dsraw it away from the second lobe.
He also added that one this that will affect what they do regarding surgery, etc., is the lymph nodes. If they are sampled and tested and found to be "positive" (that is, cancerous), but only "microscopically, then either (a) the surgeon may recommend doing surgery anyway, or (b) use chemo to try and change them to negative. If the lymph glads are found to be "negative" (no cancer), then no problem. But if they are found the be "positive" and more than "microscopic", then surgery would basically be a waste of time.
He gave me prescriptions for the three drugs that make up the chemo protocol and had me make an appointment for this coming Monday to get started. This, of course, would depend on what I decide to do after meeting with the surgeon tomorrow.
He said that his initial program of chemo would be three weeks of treatment and one week off, then another 4-week course, then a follow-up CT scan. If that shows some reduction in the size of the tumor, then perhaps another 4-week course and another CT scan.
He meantioned all of the possible side effects of the chemo and radiation....hair loss (only temporary - it would eventually grow back), nausea, vommiting, anemia, increased white cell count, decreased red cell count, etc., etc., etc.
So basically, we have to wait until after tomorrow's meeting to decide what we want to do.
I'll send another update then.
Love to you all.....
Rex :) (a.k.a., Dad )
The unenlightened man wakes up in the morning, eats breakfast, goes to work, returns home, has dinner, makes love to his wife, goes to sleep. Wakes up in the morning, eats breakfast ....
The enlightened man wakes up in the morning, eats breakfast, goes to work, returns home, has dinner, makes love to his wife, goes to sleep. Wakes up in the morning, eats breakfast .... etc. ad eternam.
Hulkette says, There is no gravity, the Earth sucks!
