More wait-n-see

We arrived at Landstuhl this morning for the first day of chemo, but it was not meant to be.  Our oncologist called yesterday and told us that she wanted to meet with us at 0830 before our chemo session.  It turned out to be a counseling session to out-brief the results of the CT scan last Thursday.

Apparently, there are some small 'areas of concern' that need to be addressed.  The CT narrative described some suspicious areas in the spine, the liver and the lungs.  There was also a very suspicious spot under the clavicle on the left side.  That didn't really surprise anyone, since the surgery back in April found 19 cancerous lymph nodes in that same general area.  As expected, there are a few more in there, but they are quite deep and difficult to get to.  When they are seen in the same region as the original mass, it doesn't change the diagnosis and the treatment plan would continue as prescribed.

However, the nodules, or radiographic shadows, or whatever they are, in those other areas could very much change the treatment plan.  The oncologist was hesitant to make that call - she's not a radiologist - so she wants to postpone chemotherapy until we see a invasive radiologist specialist on Friday at the German hospital in Kaiserslautern.  So, more waiting, more 'pins-and-needles' (literally) and more uncertainty.

The German doctors may say that the areas are too small to biopsy and then we just return back to Landstuhl and begin chemo next week.  If they decide to biopsy one or more of them, we will do that next week and wait again for the pathology on them.  We'll see what they say on Friday.

The possibility of metastasis into these other areas was big blow today!  We're so thankful for our friend in the ward who works in radiology.  After leaving oncology, we went to see him and he gave us MUCH useful information and a step-by-step explanation of what it all looks like from the radiologist point of view.  We were in his office and he showed us the CT scan and the areas that his colleague had tagged as potential cancer sites.  He was able to explain the situation and we felt a little better when we left his office.

So, we are still nervous and unsure of what to expect.  As much as we did NOT want to do chemo, here we are waiting another week and maybe letting all that bad juju in there keep growing and spreading.

Hard day.  Sad day.  We can't help but think worst case and contemplate bad outcomes, all the while trying to be positive and see the best in the situation.  We appreciate our Bishop stopping by and assisting with a blessing.  We are grateful and strengthened by our family, good friends and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark K.