Well...In my eyes I just got my miracle I asked for.....judge for yourself...

Buzzard
Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
Take it however you want to, but I think I just received the miracle I asked for. Let me tell the short leading up to story before the ending...
I was checked and CEA elevating up...I knew that something was up. PET scan showed approx 2-3 cm spot lite up around the Hilum area...Figure its cancer back, CEA tracks it pretty close with me. We do the bronchoscopy this morning and I wake to hear that the scope and ultrasound shows the spots to be scar tissue from the prior wedge resection I had in Sept.....The catch is that when they started down my throat they found a small spot that they suspect is cancer. They took it out as they do in colonoscopies and then they cauterized it. It never showed or lite up on the PET but they did find it and remove it. Now, he is a Pulmonary Interventionalist and he wants to confer with my Oncologist to see what they want to do. Either radiation, chemo, or both...
I know that its not the complete nothing that I really hope for but I try to keep things in perspective and try and stay ahead of the beast. In my opinion (which most times is very humble) I think that if given the choice I would rather deal with the latter than what I thought might be going on...He says the PET is most likely right 85% of the time and off 15%...Seems as if I got the 15% ...and that 15% allowed them to find and remove another minute' spot that didn't have time to get to large....I have no idea what I am up against now but I have seen tracheotomy's and I know that if they have to take part of my throat then I know it can be done...It may be that radiation , chemo or the combination of both will stop it .....in any event I have bought some more precious time, and thats what we do....get from one train station to the next, until we reach our destination.
My miracle.......in my mind tells me that they found and removed something that was threatening by actually following a path given to them by another issue that was nothing more than a reason to go there......just my belief, and I am now in a mode to search out every option I have in that area as far as trachs, chemo, radiation, nothing, I have no clue but the thought of taking the whole left lung made the risks greater than the benefits as I see it....Now, if anyone wants to offer up any expertise advise on what their thoughts on this subject are, I am open to them all...I heard the worst this morning when they told me that removal of the whole left lung was not an option they wanted to present, so that left me with just chemo to try and keep it maintained...understandably someday that will be my option (as in singular) but until they tell me something worse than this, I feel somewhat like I have dodged another bullet...


Thank all of you for simply "being there"....I love you all.........buzz
«1

Comments

  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    Clift,
    I am so relieved for you! It sounds like you are okay with this news much more than what you expected it to be. I will be thinking of you and praying for the best outcome possible. Keep us updated and hang in there!

    Hugs,

    Pam
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    Dang Buzz, still don't know that to think
    BUT to me this is great news!!! I'm going to try to recap where you are right now so please correct me if I am wrong.

    Your CEA was slowly going up, 9.1 the last time I think I remember. A PET showed 2 areas that lite up, the hilum and a spot on your liver. The priority was put on the lung activity as it should have been. So now the hilum is not cancer related but they found another spot on your throat that they think is and removed it.

    Is this correct? I'd get your CEA checked again just for grins to see if the removal of the spot in the throat lowered it any. It just so happens that one of my sisters has just finished radiation and chemo for throat cancer so if that ends up being an option for you I will have lots of helpful hints from her (7 weeks of 10 minute daily radiation with 2 weeks, the 1st and 5th week, being a slow chemo drip).

    I'm thinking the liver activity will now get the attention with the throat lesion not confirmed to be cancer yet and even if it is, if there is no lymph node involvement, you may be sitting pretty good there.

    All in all, this is great news to me!!! You sure deserve some serious hugs in Chi-town and I can't wait to give them to you my friend.

    Lisa P.
  • wolfen
    wolfen Member Posts: 1,324 Member
    scouty said:

    Dang Buzz, still don't know that to think
    BUT to me this is great news!!! I'm going to try to recap where you are right now so please correct me if I am wrong.

    Your CEA was slowly going up, 9.1 the last time I think I remember. A PET showed 2 areas that lite up, the hilum and a spot on your liver. The priority was put on the lung activity as it should have been. So now the hilum is not cancer related but they found another spot on your throat that they think is and removed it.

    Is this correct? I'd get your CEA checked again just for grins to see if the removal of the spot in the throat lowered it any. It just so happens that one of my sisters has just finished radiation and chemo for throat cancer so if that ends up being an option for you I will have lots of helpful hints from her (7 weeks of 10 minute daily radiation with 2 weeks, the 1st and 5th week, being a slow chemo drip).

    I'm thinking the liver activity will now get the attention with the throat lesion not confirmed to be cancer yet and even if it is, if there is no lymph node involvement, you may be sitting pretty good there.

    All in all, this is great news to me!!! You sure deserve some serious hugs in Chi-town and I can't wait to give them to you my friend.

    Lisa P.

    Buzz
    Relieved to hear that the lung involvement was a false alarm, and glad the throat spot was discovered when it was tiny. Hope the removal was successful in staving off future surgery. Sounds like Scouty's sister had good results with her chemo/radiation.

    Now if the liver will just straighten up and fly right, you'll be good for another 100 years.

    Have been awaiting a report from you, and also anxiously waiting for JBG's liver surgery on Sept. 8 to be over and done with. Spoke with her a couple of days ago. She is understandably nervous and frightened. I'm sure it will go well. You know how da** hard the waiting is.

    Luv,

    Wolfen
  • plh4gail
    plh4gail Member Posts: 1,238 Member
    Hi Buzz....I have to tell
    Hi Buzz....I have to tell you. If it's good for you then it's good for me! I think you're great! I'm glad you're happy with the news and it sounds pretty ok I think.

    Gail
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    Buzz
    Buzz,
    You are amazing. You are looking at this with a great positive view. I agree, they caught it early and amen to that.

    Keep us posted.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • tanstaafl
    tanstaafl Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    one step at a time
    Looks like you're making headway, buzz. Here's to finding the right multimodal treatment - chemo, nutrition, alt chemo, surgery and rays to systematically eliminate these things.
  • northernlites
    northernlites Member Posts: 96
    I think you have received
    I think you have received GREAT news. You inspire me to keep going... thank you!

    Tessa
  • pete43lost_at_sea
    pete43lost_at_sea Member Posts: 3,900 Member
    just keep on dodging .........
    great news buzz, i guess miracles come in all shapes and sizes.
    I am just glad yours arrived.

    hugs,

    Peter
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    Scope
    Awesome news on finding that one spot and maybe that could have been the reason why your test was elevated. Think you got some good news today.

    Kim
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member

    I think you have received
    I think you have received GREAT news. You inspire me to keep going... thank you!

    Tessa

    Now that I am off the anesthesia buzz...(pun intended)
    I do realize where I am at in this. First off thank you all, you are so great... next week I will be heading back up there to see what is in store for me. Something I have always kept in the back of my mind, you just never know what will be around the next corner...I have a new face in my corner now and he seems to be another brilliant protege' of the medical profession. Together hopefully they will come up with a concoction that will hold the door open on the train station for a while longer...
    I have to pass this along because I really feel as if this may help comfort someone along the way. ......Yesterday, when he spoke with me and told me that the risks in removing the complete left lung would not outweigh the benefits, it woke me up. It really made me realize how important this place is...Without all of you in here, some new, some old, some passed, but all tremendous, I would not have been able to make decisions, or to cope, or have the ability to have someone truly understand what we go through and be able to be frank with me, consoling, and there 24/7...Until you have this, you have no idea what you could be in for without it....Take what you need from this place, what fits your need at the moment, but remember, always pay it forward, for there is someone out there who could really benefit from this place as all of us have...I would have been gone long ago without this place, I know that for a fact...I knew nothing of 2nd opinions, nothing of CAT,PET, CEA, enzymes, etc etc etc but this forum of knowledge, basically from all walks of life and every end of this planet has found a common ground, even through the adversity of cancer and its ramifications we still find a commonplace where we can take refuge when we are at our lowest, or at our highest. I love this place and all the people in it, and I speak of it every where I go, even now as I type I get a feeling of warmth and reassurance that I have people in every corner to lead and guide me through it all. What a feeling of safety and comfort it is......Thank every one of you for being in here and contributing what you think may be minor when it actually rings someone else's bell. You never know whose life you touch.....again, pay it forward, you people are the as my son calls me " the shizzle"........love to you all.......buzz
  • biz
    biz Member Posts: 60 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Now that I am off the anesthesia buzz...(pun intended)
    I do realize where I am at in this. First off thank you all, you are so great... next week I will be heading back up there to see what is in store for me. Something I have always kept in the back of my mind, you just never know what will be around the next corner...I have a new face in my corner now and he seems to be another brilliant protege' of the medical profession. Together hopefully they will come up with a concoction that will hold the door open on the train station for a while longer...
    I have to pass this along because I really feel as if this may help comfort someone along the way. ......Yesterday, when he spoke with me and told me that the risks in removing the complete left lung would not outweigh the benefits, it woke me up. It really made me realize how important this place is...Without all of you in here, some new, some old, some passed, but all tremendous, I would not have been able to make decisions, or to cope, or have the ability to have someone truly understand what we go through and be able to be frank with me, consoling, and there 24/7...Until you have this, you have no idea what you could be in for without it....Take what you need from this place, what fits your need at the moment, but remember, always pay it forward, for there is someone out there who could really benefit from this place as all of us have...I would have been gone long ago without this place, I know that for a fact...I knew nothing of 2nd opinions, nothing of CAT,PET, CEA, enzymes, etc etc etc but this forum of knowledge, basically from all walks of life and every end of this planet has found a common ground, even through the adversity of cancer and its ramifications we still find a commonplace where we can take refuge when we are at our lowest, or at our highest. I love this place and all the people in it, and I speak of it every where I go, even now as I type I get a feeling of warmth and reassurance that I have people in every corner to lead and guide me through it all. What a feeling of safety and comfort it is......Thank every one of you for being in here and contributing what you think may be minor when it actually rings someone else's bell. You never know whose life you touch.....again, pay it forward, you people are the as my son calls me " the shizzle"........love to you all.......buzz

    Buzz
    I think Someone is watching over you. Actually, I think He is watching over us all.

    Thanks for the way you "pay it forward".
    -Biz
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Now that I am off the anesthesia buzz...(pun intended)
    I do realize where I am at in this. First off thank you all, you are so great... next week I will be heading back up there to see what is in store for me. Something I have always kept in the back of my mind, you just never know what will be around the next corner...I have a new face in my corner now and he seems to be another brilliant protege' of the medical profession. Together hopefully they will come up with a concoction that will hold the door open on the train station for a while longer...
    I have to pass this along because I really feel as if this may help comfort someone along the way. ......Yesterday, when he spoke with me and told me that the risks in removing the complete left lung would not outweigh the benefits, it woke me up. It really made me realize how important this place is...Without all of you in here, some new, some old, some passed, but all tremendous, I would not have been able to make decisions, or to cope, or have the ability to have someone truly understand what we go through and be able to be frank with me, consoling, and there 24/7...Until you have this, you have no idea what you could be in for without it....Take what you need from this place, what fits your need at the moment, but remember, always pay it forward, for there is someone out there who could really benefit from this place as all of us have...I would have been gone long ago without this place, I know that for a fact...I knew nothing of 2nd opinions, nothing of CAT,PET, CEA, enzymes, etc etc etc but this forum of knowledge, basically from all walks of life and every end of this planet has found a common ground, even through the adversity of cancer and its ramifications we still find a commonplace where we can take refuge when we are at our lowest, or at our highest. I love this place and all the people in it, and I speak of it every where I go, even now as I type I get a feeling of warmth and reassurance that I have people in every corner to lead and guide me through it all. What a feeling of safety and comfort it is......Thank every one of you for being in here and contributing what you think may be minor when it actually rings someone else's bell. You never know whose life you touch.....again, pay it forward, you people are the as my son calls me " the shizzle"........love to you all.......buzz

    Bzzzzz....
    Right on, Buzz:)

    I echo that sentiment and mentioned it in a recent post as well.

    I'm finding that as I continue writing the chapters, that there are becoming many stories about many of us in there - but we are all in there as a collective unit, so I don't miss anybody.

    You remember when you told me you would be a lab rat anytime for me?

    Of course, I never think of you as a rat - only my friend.

    To that end, I've got big news for you - I've written you into my latest chapter and you're going to be in the book:)

    I've rewriting the "The Chemo Wars" post in this chapter (nearly done) and use both of our illustrations on recurrent lung tumors to talk about one of the points I was talking about. Whether to do chemo or not following surgery. You probably remember this post - I know I do, because you told me "Craig, dammit, write the book..." LOL!

    I refer to you affectionately as "Mr. B."

    Certain story lines that mesh with the chapters in question, I find I can use. And when I can't, I mention all of us, because like you, I realize how important this board has been for as well and I want everyone to be a part of this experience if it goes anywhere.

    This is my way of paying it forward - it's the highest compliment that I can bestow upon anyone.

    Your friend - standing beside you.

    -Craig aka Joe Montana
  • lesvanb
    lesvanb Member Posts: 905
    Buzzard said:

    Now that I am off the anesthesia buzz...(pun intended)
    I do realize where I am at in this. First off thank you all, you are so great... next week I will be heading back up there to see what is in store for me. Something I have always kept in the back of my mind, you just never know what will be around the next corner...I have a new face in my corner now and he seems to be another brilliant protege' of the medical profession. Together hopefully they will come up with a concoction that will hold the door open on the train station for a while longer...
    I have to pass this along because I really feel as if this may help comfort someone along the way. ......Yesterday, when he spoke with me and told me that the risks in removing the complete left lung would not outweigh the benefits, it woke me up. It really made me realize how important this place is...Without all of you in here, some new, some old, some passed, but all tremendous, I would not have been able to make decisions, or to cope, or have the ability to have someone truly understand what we go through and be able to be frank with me, consoling, and there 24/7...Until you have this, you have no idea what you could be in for without it....Take what you need from this place, what fits your need at the moment, but remember, always pay it forward, for there is someone out there who could really benefit from this place as all of us have...I would have been gone long ago without this place, I know that for a fact...I knew nothing of 2nd opinions, nothing of CAT,PET, CEA, enzymes, etc etc etc but this forum of knowledge, basically from all walks of life and every end of this planet has found a common ground, even through the adversity of cancer and its ramifications we still find a commonplace where we can take refuge when we are at our lowest, or at our highest. I love this place and all the people in it, and I speak of it every where I go, even now as I type I get a feeling of warmth and reassurance that I have people in every corner to lead and guide me through it all. What a feeling of safety and comfort it is......Thank every one of you for being in here and contributing what you think may be minor when it actually rings someone else's bell. You never know whose life you touch.....again, pay it forward, you people are the as my son calls me " the shizzle"........love to you all.......buzz

    You've said it all so well
    So glad to know you here, Buzz. So glad you continue to find options. That is the name of the game for us metastatic folks.

    all the best, Leslie
  • Fight for my love
    Fight for my love Member Posts: 1,522 Member
    Hi Buzz,you wise man
    Hi Buzz,you wise man again.To me,it sounds like they found out the real source for your elevated cea.What fears us is unknown,but now you knew.It is a miracle.Please let us know your upcoming treatment plan.Good luck with it.You are in my prayers as always.
  • johnnybegood
    johnnybegood Member Posts: 1,117 Member

    Hi Buzz,you wise man
    Hi Buzz,you wise man again.To me,it sounds like they found out the real source for your elevated cea.What fears us is unknown,but now you knew.It is a miracle.Please let us know your upcoming treatment plan.Good luck with it.You are in my prayers as always.

    hey Buzz
    thanks for letting us know whats been going on.your right about this board and the people on it.nobody understands things better than the people that have been thru it.we are family all connected by that same rope....Godbless....johnnybegood
  • dmdwins
    dmdwins Member Posts: 454 Member

    hey Buzz
    thanks for letting us know whats been going on.your right about this board and the people on it.nobody understands things better than the people that have been thru it.we are family all connected by that same rope....Godbless....johnnybegood

    I believe in miracles!
    Sounds like it was fortunate for you to find what you did early....sometimes what we view as unfortunate circumstances really turn out to be not so. Keep us posted with updates and that positive attitude of yours.

    Smiles,
    Dawn
  • ninetoes
    ninetoes Member Posts: 81
    Buzzard said:

    Now that I am off the anesthesia buzz...(pun intended)
    I do realize where I am at in this. First off thank you all, you are so great... next week I will be heading back up there to see what is in store for me. Something I have always kept in the back of my mind, you just never know what will be around the next corner...I have a new face in my corner now and he seems to be another brilliant protege' of the medical profession. Together hopefully they will come up with a concoction that will hold the door open on the train station for a while longer...
    I have to pass this along because I really feel as if this may help comfort someone along the way. ......Yesterday, when he spoke with me and told me that the risks in removing the complete left lung would not outweigh the benefits, it woke me up. It really made me realize how important this place is...Without all of you in here, some new, some old, some passed, but all tremendous, I would not have been able to make decisions, or to cope, or have the ability to have someone truly understand what we go through and be able to be frank with me, consoling, and there 24/7...Until you have this, you have no idea what you could be in for without it....Take what you need from this place, what fits your need at the moment, but remember, always pay it forward, for there is someone out there who could really benefit from this place as all of us have...I would have been gone long ago without this place, I know that for a fact...I knew nothing of 2nd opinions, nothing of CAT,PET, CEA, enzymes, etc etc etc but this forum of knowledge, basically from all walks of life and every end of this planet has found a common ground, even through the adversity of cancer and its ramifications we still find a commonplace where we can take refuge when we are at our lowest, or at our highest. I love this place and all the people in it, and I speak of it every where I go, even now as I type I get a feeling of warmth and reassurance that I have people in every corner to lead and guide me through it all. What a feeling of safety and comfort it is......Thank every one of you for being in here and contributing what you think may be minor when it actually rings someone else's bell. You never know whose life you touch.....again, pay it forward, you people are the as my son calls me " the shizzle"........love to you all.......buzz

    Thank You
    I don't comment much but I always read. Buzz, when I first came on this site I was scared and felt alone. I remember your words of encouragement and humor. I know I would have never been able to cope if not for you and others on this site. I feel bad I don't post much, sometimes I have things to say and for some reason I don't. I have a person close to me that is fighting breast cancer and she and I can just talk for hours about our cancer, but on-line sometimes I just freeze up, I know Sounds stupid. Hang in there, and thank you and everyone on this site for always being there.

    Dave
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    dmdwins said:

    I believe in miracles!
    Sounds like it was fortunate for you to find what you did early....sometimes what we view as unfortunate circumstances really turn out to be not so. Keep us posted with updates and that positive attitude of yours.

    Smiles,
    Dawn

    Lucky or somebody is looking after you Buzz!
    Praying for a fast and smooth recovery!
  • Sonia32
    Sonia32 Member Posts: 1,071 Member
    pscott1 said:

    Clift,
    I am so relieved for you! It sounds like you are okay with this news much more than what you expected it to be. I will be thinking of you and praying for the best outcome possible. Keep us updated and hang in there!

    Hugs,

    Pam

    Buzz
    When I first came online I was scared of you, lol no idea why! You along side everyone are the wisest soul on here. Sending you love and hugs. And I know sometimes we don't see things like as what you said a miracle, but I do, they come in so many ways and when they do they always make you realise things. Ok now I know I need to sleep lol
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    Wow
    I certainly believe it's a miracle for you, too!

    *hugs*
    Gail