Not Good News

Not good news.
Apparently, gall bladder cancer is inoperable. I don’t yet have a diagnosis but the assumed (by the doctors) diagnosis is gall bladder cancer. I’m having surgery on Friday. They will biopsy the colon, gall bladder, liver, any anything else they can. The hope now is that they find that the tumor consists of a different type of cancer, meaning one that originated in the colon or the liver. Those types of cancer they can remove. But gall bladder cancer they cannot. All they can do is administer chemo to prolong life. On Friday they will also be putting in a port for me to receive chemo. The surgeon said that anyway we look at it, my case is not going to be an easy one. He says I am in for a “tough ride.”

So I guess I now will ask you all to pray that what they find will be a treatable cancer, a liver cancer or a colon cancer, and not the gall bladder cancer they are sure they are going to find. I want more than 4 to 5 months. I’m not done living yet. I’m not done. This is really tough.

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A Short Catch Up #WeekendCoffeeShare

If we were having coffee, I would try to be chipper but I would have to cut it short as I’m not in the best spirits these days.

As many of you know, doctors found a large tumor in my gall bladder seven weeks ago. Upon further examination, they’ve seen that a portion of the tumor is also in my liver and there is a good chance that it is in my colon, as well. I have had test after test and they keep coming back benign but what they see on the CT scan says it’s malignant. I didn’t understand what they meant by “what they see and how it is acting” until I read the latest CT scan report in MyChart. What they are going by is how it is effecting the tissue around it and by “gas bubbles” and other stuff I don’t really understand yet. I kind of lost it when I read that and the word “metastasized.”

I see the surgeon Monday afternoon and I am pretty sure they have my full file now, including the reports from my surgery two years ago in which they found a borderline malignancy in an ovarian cyst which was removed. I think, and I hope, that tomorrow we will have a much better picture of what is going on and a treatment plan. I’m very nervous and very anxious. I am often near tears these days but I’m one of those people that doesn’t let herself cry so it’s all inside.

Today I will spend the rest of the day with Anderson and Spencer and Maya and we’ll probably go for some ice cream because it’s National Ice Cream Day here in the U.S. and lots of places are giving out free ice cream cones! The weather is nice enough for ice cream. I haven’t taken them to the park since before the fourth of July and I usually take them every day. So maybe a park trip is in the works, too.

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading. I can’t concentrate to write or watch TV so I read. I am trying to read all of the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva.  There are currently seventeen titles and I’ve read six. I had some in my Kindle library and I’ve recently discovered how to borrow digital books from the library so now I’m in business! If you’re looking for a great spy thriller, this might be the series for you.

In any case, I have been horrible about keeping up with everyone’s blogs. I read a lot of them but I read on my phone and I have fat fingers so it’s difficult to comment. I end up liking a lot of posts. I will try to be better about it; maybe I’ll start carrying my tablet with me which will work if there is Wi-Fi at the doctor’s office and other buildings.

In the meantime, if you are so inclined, I am needing a lot of virtual hugs and positive thoughts/energy these days. Please send them my way.

#WeekendCoffeeShare is hosted by Diana at Part Time Monster. Go check it out and you’ll find a lot more shares. Maybe you will want to write one.

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The Latest

Note: This is a copy/paste from the post I just put up on Face Book. It’s difficult to write these updates and not forget things so it was easy to just paste it here.

On Thursday I got a call from my gastroenterologist saying the needle biopsy was benign but he doesn’t think it’s benign. He has actually seen it and was the first to detect it. He’s worried that we are not getting the full picture and might be lulled into thinking that all is okay. He really thinks it’s malignant. He said go ahead and see the oncologist today while I wait for the authorization to see a surgeon. His feeling is that the more eyes on my case, the better; another doctor may have had a similar case.

Today, the oncologist was also stumped and could only recommend either another biopsy, this time with an arthroscope as that will give them a better and bigger tissue sample even though it will be more invasive than the needle biopsy I had last week.

The tumor is on my right side and many of you will remember that I had a serious surgery two years ago during which a very large fluid filled cyst was removed from my right ovary. The tissue removed was biopsied and came back as borderline malignant. None of the current doctors had done a full health history so they didn’t know this. I felt it was relevant because both instances involved my right lower abdomen.

Once I explained all of that to the oncologist, he was able to access my records from two years ago and found that the growth two years ago was a “serous tumor” which he said are almost always benign. So now his theory is that the current tumor is also a serous tumor (not a misspelling) but is probably benign. So he wants me to stop worrying about it for now until we get the next biopsy which will hopefully give us a more complete picture of what is going on. So while I have some surgery coming up, it might not be a horrible thing. The tumor has to go so we can biopsy it and see what it is and also to prevent it from spreading to other organs and/or becoming a worse kind of tumor with a higher incidence of malignancy.

 

The oncologist is also going to try to present “my tumor” before his “tumor board” which meets Tuesday (the 11th). The tumor board is an opportunity for oncologist to present a case which is unusual or difficult and try to get input from other top surgeons. It’s up the hill at Oregon Health and Science University, a teaching hospital. So maybe that will help shed light on it!

So I wait some more. Hopefully I will hear from the surgeon and get to schedule that soon.

Thank you for your continued support. I cannot tell you what a huge difference it has made. It’s a very wonderful feeling to know that I have so many people to lean on. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

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Biopsy Day

Today’s the day. I leave for the hospital in about 5 hours and will be there most  of the day. They said my ride could get me around three or four. Then the waiting begins once again. I see the oncologist in a week, on  the tenth. Hopefully we’ll get a treatment plan then.  

The stress of the last couple of weeks is messing with my diabetes, too. Not fun. 

Anyway, if you happen to think of me today, send telepathic hugs. They are much needed. 

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11.8 cm

That’s about four inches and it’s the size of the tumor that yesterday’s CT scan found growing outside of my gall bladder. From what the doctor says, the CT scan shows that it is “acting like it is cancerous.” The next step is a needle biopsy which should happen within the week and the gastroenterologist has already put in a referral to the oncologist. Approval for oncologist consult should take a couple of weeks, at least.

I’m sort of in shock. The doctor says it will have to come out, whatever it is, because it is protruding into the colon. So best case scenario is that it only has to be removed. But it is very likely that there will be a need for “follow up treatment.”

I managed to hold it together enough to call my three kids and tell them, and then my mother. I learned that hearing bad news is bad but having to relay the bad news to someone you love is far worse. So I guess we all have some more waiting to do. I wish the wait to be as short as possible.

I want to digest this news so that I can let my mind think about other things. Right now it’s kind of tough to think of anything. I’m sort of numb.

With luck, I can distract myself in a day or two so I can write and post here. I have a lot of ideas for posts.

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Lab Report

This is a copy/paste from my Facebook status. I’m really very tired and somewhat weak so I don’t have the energy to write much more. I’ll be back as soon as I can bounce back with more of me. Hopefully in a couple of days.

So… the lab results came back with a “borderline malignancy” which has to be classified as cancer because it can recur. The organs are gone and so is any surrounding tissue. During the surgery they took samples of surrounding organs and tissue and all of those came back as benign. The type of cancer that was found almost never recurs. Almost a full 100% of women with it will not have a recurrence and will lead a normal and full life. Mine was not the typical ovarian cancer from which most women die; it was a different type. So that’s good. There is also no need for chemo or radiation. Another good. I will have to go in for pelvic exams every three months for the coming year then it will reduce to every six months then once a year. All in all, it was a good visit. I got the staples taken out. One kind of troubling thing is that I continue to lose weight. I weighed 205 on the day of the surgery April 16). Then on the 27th I weighed 157. Yesterday, nine days later, I am down to 148. So I need to try to get my system to keep food down. I’m also feeling very tired and very weak. I guess that has a lot to do with the weight loss but also the doctor explained that all my organs are in shock as a result of the surgery and they expect my recovery to be protracted so probably a full 8 or more weeks instead of the 6 to 8 weeks. I’m also at a high risk for peritonitis because the fluid in the cyst had leaked all over the inside of my abdomen causing an inflammation throughout. So I need to keep an eye on my temperature and whether I am keeping food down or not (right now, I’m not). Anyway, thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes. It has all helped me tremendously.

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