Cancer: The Boring Details

My last post was more of my feelings. This is more of a news report...

This here is what has been going on.

At the end of April I had to do a routine MRI. In that MRI was spotted two new growths. The doctors wanted me to have them biopsied. I wasn’t in any hurry because I honestly and truly thought it was nothing. In fact I asked the doctor “do I have to do a biopsy every time a new growth appears?” To which the doctor replied, “yes!” I reluctantly got a biopsy. 

In August I got the results back from the biopsy and to my disbelief,  I discovered I had two cancerous tumors.  Shortly after finding out I met with team of professionals who went over my results with me and discussed the different treatments. They said I would have to have surgery to remove the tumors and the tissue around the tumors. They also said I would need radiation. As for chemo, they needed to do some more tests to determine if I needed Chemo. I had surgery , shortly after, along with the tumors and tissue they wanted to take some lymph nodes out to insure that the cancer had not spread. In this surgery there were some complications and they were unable to get all the cancer. so I had to have a second surgery which was last week. In this last surgery they were able to get all the cancer and now I am ready to move onto the next stage of my treatment. 

After the first surgery my lymph nodes and tissue cells/DNA that they collected were tested. My lymph nodes came back negative for cancer, which means the cancer has not spread, which is a blessing. The tissue cells/DNA around the cancer came back undecided. I had to wait for my insurance to accept further specialized testing, which they did. Those test results came back a few weeks ago and my cancer cell count was low enough and my DNA came back non-cancerous, which means I do not have to have Chemo, another miracle. 

As I said above I had a second surgery a week ago and I am recovering nicely. I have a few more weeks before I start radiation. I am not sure how radiation will affect my body but I have high hopes that it will have little to no effect. Some of the side effects are soreness of the area being treated and fatigue. Because of were the cancer is I have an added risk of lung and heart damage from radiation. The radiologist will of course do his very best to protect them. 

After radiation, I will need to be on specialized medication for 10 years to help prevent the growth of  more cancer. I do not like the idea of having to be on medication however I need to do what needs to be done to protect myself from any further cancer growth. O will be working closely with my oncologist to make sure that the medication doesn’t make me too sick. I am not sure of the effects of that medication, I am a little nervous about it. I also plan to visit with a natural pathologist in hopes to find a more natural and healthy way to prevent the grown of the cancer. After all that I should be cancer-free... 

Over all, I have been extremely blessed that this is not as bad as it could have been. I have a great team of doctors working on my behalf. We found the cancer early and it didn’t have time to spread and become more aggressive.