As promised, I’ll pass on the latest information regarding my shoulder pain and what could be a full blown tumor. The results from the PET scan from yesterday have not been analyzed but I saw the graphics from the scan. They do show a brightness at the spot of the pain in my right shoulder which almost certainly means there is a tumor at that location. Because of the probable tumor, the medical team is doing a full cancer search by analyzing my blood as well as interpreting the PET scan. So I have a new appointment this Thursday to hear more complete results of what’s going on with the cancer. The doctor did make some informed guesses as to what he thinks is happening.
Apparently my new immune system is not yet fully functional. It’s brand new and I’m taking drugs that suppress it to prevent something called Graft Versus Host Disease or GVHD. (That’s the disease that kills people.) My new immune system is probably killing cancer cells but simply can’t keep up with a fast growing tumor. So the next question is how to give the immune system a boost and get rid of the tumor or tumors. After more information is gathered on Thursday, they will probably decide to radiate the tumor or tumors to shrink them to a manageable size. Chemotherapy may also be added to the mix. They will also eventually reduce the immune suppressant drugs so the new blood cells can be more active in fighting the cancer. This is still based on assumptions and will be confirmed or not this Thursday.
The bottom line is, it takes time. I firmly believe my body is making progress in killing these wicked cancer cells but it doesn’t happen over night. It may take a few more weeks or even months but there is a good chance that I will beat this thing before long.
In my last blog, I bragged about my hair. Here is an update to that blog, complete with pictures:
"Willow Bushes"
The envy of the female members of my medical team at SCCA: No kidding, they were teasing me about them again today! I haven’t told them that I don’t care how long my eyelashes are, I’m not a woman.
And the long awaited hair. I was bald for for way too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment