Biopsy scheduled
I saw Dr. Robert Lee today and he was just as nice and confidence inspiring as I imagined he would be. He showed me what things look like on his screen.
It is true that the small mass is right up against my heart. It is also right up against the Esophagus. This makes sense because when I take a deep breath these days, instead of coughing I burp! ha, ha! So he is also having a GI doctor come in to biopsy the Esophagus and to enter the lung for a needle biopsy from the esophagus. I will be under general anesthesia. Dr. Lee will likely go first and then the GI doctor. He wants to do it this Thursday which is good. It has been since July I have waited after the CT scan to get to this point and as we all know here, the "being in waiting to find out what happens next" period is hard.
Dr. Lee says that they always are conscious it could be a primary cancer or metastasis because of my history, but also because of my history with the IG deficiency and many inflammations and infections of the bronchi it could be that some opportunistic bacterial culture causing scarring and collapsing of the lung. If so effective treatment can be given and I will improve. He said whether it is cancer or "just" the problem of the lung collapsing in this area though I may need to have surgery to remove the affected area. But that won't happen on Thursday. It will take about a week before I know what to expect next next.
Thanks for listening to me worry about this. The good news is we are moving toward some sort of resolution. I asked Dr. Lee about resolution and he said the chances of that are in the high 90 percentile (which only means we will likely find out what it is). One Pulmonologist told me to expect that there may be no resolution and I am glad she said that because it was one outcome I had not imagined yet. It was a relief to hear from Dr. Lee this is not probable.
Dr. Lee was not at all concerned about the ground glass opacity in the lower lobe right now and is not going to go for a further look there now but it will be watched by continued scans. He is focusing on the consolidated cystic mass instead. This makes sense to me. So, we have a plan for, hopefully, Thursday.
Again, thanks. I'll let you know how it goes. They told me to be prepared for a pretty sore throat for a few days.
Fondly,
Sandy
Comments
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Sandy
Thank you so much for your update. As I read it, my heart filled with much hope for you and thankfulness that you have such good doctors. I am sure you are glad to be getting to the answers here and I hope that your procedure will go well on Thursday. May you also get those biopsy results back asap and my you get the best possible news. I am anxious for you and will be waiting to hear the results. I will keep you in my prayers, my dear friend, and you'll certainly be in my thoughts. You are such a bright light on this site and I want you to come back healthy and well! Take care. Hugs!
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biopsy
Sandy - Wishing you the best Thurs. It sounds like you are in good hands with your docs. I am rooting for you:)
Nic
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sandysp
Just saw your post and want to of course wish you the best of luck on Thursday, you will be in my thoughts and prayers and I will look foward to hearing some good news from you once you are up to posting. Keep up with your positive thoughts and I will be sending you lots of positive vibes.
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Sandyspqv62 said:sandysp
Just saw your post and want to of course wish you the best of luck on Thursday, you will be in my thoughts and prayers and I will look foward to hearing some good news from you once you are up to posting. Keep up with your positive thoughts and I will be sending you lots of positive vibes.
Best wishes for Thursday. Hoping for good results
Liz x
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SandyAZANNIE said:Sandy
You probably won't see this before tomorrow, but just wanted you to know that I hope all goes well!!!
Ann
I just wanted to tell you I was thinking of you this morning and wishing you all the very best. You are in my prayers, sweet friend.
Martha
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Thanks for all that positive energypializ said:Sandy
I hope all went well.
Thinking of you
Liz x
I really appreciate your well wishes and positive energy.
I am supposed to schedule an appointment with the doctor this coming week which makes me nervous but with the lungs I have which have had repeated inflammations, I guess there is always something to talk about. Hopefully it's all about how to get better. The biopsies, I am sure are not back yet but obviously he saw stuff and has ideas about them.
The procedure I guess went well but when I woke up and took my first "awake" breath, it hurt like a knife in my back. The had to give me morphine. Then they weaned me off the morphine and it happened again. Needless to say, I did not get to go home but was admitted about 10:00 to a room. By the time I got admitted Motrin was working for me and I so did not want to stay but was stuck there.
Everyone is wonderful at MSKCC but it was staggering to find myself in a room on a floor with so many desparately ill people. I mean it really frightened me that I might have to go back again some day. I felt so lousy and I already forgot what it is like to feel really ill and in pain in just three years.
When I spent a few days in the hospital three years ago during treatment for low counts and a reaction to a blood transfusion, it was a lousy local hospital. MSKCC is an outstanding hospital but I was on the seventeenth floor and it was filled with Thoracic patients, some very young. I could not wait to get out of there. It really shook me up.
I will never take a breath for granted anymore. I swear! I am still sore. The surgeon doesn't understand what happened yet. He had never seen a reaction so extreme. At first they thought I was doing a Joan Rivers but my vitals were excellent the whole time. Even my oxygen levels were good (thanks to those Ig infusions I have been getting:-)
More will be revealed.
Fondly,
Sandy
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Sandysandysp said:Thanks for all that positive energy
I really appreciate your well wishes and positive energy.
I am supposed to schedule an appointment with the doctor this coming week which makes me nervous but with the lungs I have which have had repeated inflammations, I guess there is always something to talk about. Hopefully it's all about how to get better. The biopsies, I am sure are not back yet but obviously he saw stuff and has ideas about them.
The procedure I guess went well but when I woke up and took my first "awake" breath, it hurt like a knife in my back. The had to give me morphine. Then they weaned me off the morphine and it happened again. Needless to say, I did not get to go home but was admitted about 10:00 to a room. By the time I got admitted Motrin was working for me and I so did not want to stay but was stuck there.
Everyone is wonderful at MSKCC but it was staggering to find myself in a room on a floor with so many desparately ill people. I mean it really frightened me that I might have to go back again some day. I felt so lousy and I already forgot what it is like to feel really ill and in pain in just three years.
When I spent a few days in the hospital three years ago during treatment for low counts and a reaction to a blood transfusion, it was a lousy local hospital. MSKCC is an outstanding hospital but I was on the seventeenth floor and it was filled with Thoracic patients, some very young. I could not wait to get out of there. It really shook me up.
I will never take a breath for granted anymore. I swear! I am still sore. The surgeon doesn't understand what happened yet. He had never seen a reaction so extreme. At first they thought I was doing a Joan Rivers but my vitals were excellent the whole time. Even my oxygen levels were good (thanks to those Ig infusions I have been getting:-)
More will be revealed.
Fondly,
Sandy
Hello lovely lady
I think we all take our bodies for granted until we come up against a malfunction, & I think that is great. It's the way it's meant to be. Then of course when it does go wrong, we appreciate a return to normality. But even if we get some way to where we were, that is appreciated too. To be in such pain when breathing it must have been frightening. I am glad you have now recovered from that & hope they don't keep you waiting too long for the result. That's the tricky bit. The waiting. I can always tolerate any procedures, but the wait is something else. I try to busy my mind (luckily I still work full time & my sessions with clients are an hour long, so listening to them intently gives me that anyway). Other than that I find mindfulness helpful, & even just coming back to the breath helps.
Whatever the outcome of the investigation, you will handle it. & we are here at your side
Liz x
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Sandysandysp said:Thanks for all that positive energy
I really appreciate your well wishes and positive energy.
I am supposed to schedule an appointment with the doctor this coming week which makes me nervous but with the lungs I have which have had repeated inflammations, I guess there is always something to talk about. Hopefully it's all about how to get better. The biopsies, I am sure are not back yet but obviously he saw stuff and has ideas about them.
The procedure I guess went well but when I woke up and took my first "awake" breath, it hurt like a knife in my back. The had to give me morphine. Then they weaned me off the morphine and it happened again. Needless to say, I did not get to go home but was admitted about 10:00 to a room. By the time I got admitted Motrin was working for me and I so did not want to stay but was stuck there.
Everyone is wonderful at MSKCC but it was staggering to find myself in a room on a floor with so many desparately ill people. I mean it really frightened me that I might have to go back again some day. I felt so lousy and I already forgot what it is like to feel really ill and in pain in just three years.
When I spent a few days in the hospital three years ago during treatment for low counts and a reaction to a blood transfusion, it was a lousy local hospital. MSKCC is an outstanding hospital but I was on the seventeenth floor and it was filled with Thoracic patients, some very young. I could not wait to get out of there. It really shook me up.
I will never take a breath for granted anymore. I swear! I am still sore. The surgeon doesn't understand what happened yet. He had never seen a reaction so extreme. At first they thought I was doing a Joan Rivers but my vitals were excellent the whole time. Even my oxygen levels were good (thanks to those Ig infusions I have been getting:-)
More will be revealed.
Fondly,
Sandy
I have been waiting anxiously to hear from you, so I'm glad to see your post. I'm sorry for the rough time you had--that must have been very frightening. I hope you are now home, resting comfortably in your own bed, and taking it easy. I absolutely hate being in the hospital--it really is no place for a person to get well!
I hope the biopsy results won't take too long to come back so that you and your doctors know what's there and what needs to happen next. Of course, I am hoping for the best possible news that everything is negative and no treatment will be necessary. Please let us know what you find out. In the meantime, I hope you know how precious you are to all of us here and that many good thoughts and prayers are being sent your way. Take good care, sweet friend!
Martha
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Sandysandysp said:Thanks for all that positive energy
I really appreciate your well wishes and positive energy.
I am supposed to schedule an appointment with the doctor this coming week which makes me nervous but with the lungs I have which have had repeated inflammations, I guess there is always something to talk about. Hopefully it's all about how to get better. The biopsies, I am sure are not back yet but obviously he saw stuff and has ideas about them.
The procedure I guess went well but when I woke up and took my first "awake" breath, it hurt like a knife in my back. The had to give me morphine. Then they weaned me off the morphine and it happened again. Needless to say, I did not get to go home but was admitted about 10:00 to a room. By the time I got admitted Motrin was working for me and I so did not want to stay but was stuck there.
Everyone is wonderful at MSKCC but it was staggering to find myself in a room on a floor with so many desparately ill people. I mean it really frightened me that I might have to go back again some day. I felt so lousy and I already forgot what it is like to feel really ill and in pain in just three years.
When I spent a few days in the hospital three years ago during treatment for low counts and a reaction to a blood transfusion, it was a lousy local hospital. MSKCC is an outstanding hospital but I was on the seventeenth floor and it was filled with Thoracic patients, some very young. I could not wait to get out of there. It really shook me up.
I will never take a breath for granted anymore. I swear! I am still sore. The surgeon doesn't understand what happened yet. He had never seen a reaction so extreme. At first they thought I was doing a Joan Rivers but my vitals were excellent the whole time. Even my oxygen levels were good (thanks to those Ig infusions I have been getting:-)
More will be revealed.
Fondly,
Sandy
So happy you survived your lung biopsy! Sorry that you were traumatized:( I am anxious to find out your results.
Hope you are feeling better!
Nic
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sandyspsandysp said:Thanks for all that positive energy
I really appreciate your well wishes and positive energy.
I am supposed to schedule an appointment with the doctor this coming week which makes me nervous but with the lungs I have which have had repeated inflammations, I guess there is always something to talk about. Hopefully it's all about how to get better. The biopsies, I am sure are not back yet but obviously he saw stuff and has ideas about them.
The procedure I guess went well but when I woke up and took my first "awake" breath, it hurt like a knife in my back. The had to give me morphine. Then they weaned me off the morphine and it happened again. Needless to say, I did not get to go home but was admitted about 10:00 to a room. By the time I got admitted Motrin was working for me and I so did not want to stay but was stuck there.
Everyone is wonderful at MSKCC but it was staggering to find myself in a room on a floor with so many desparately ill people. I mean it really frightened me that I might have to go back again some day. I felt so lousy and I already forgot what it is like to feel really ill and in pain in just three years.
When I spent a few days in the hospital three years ago during treatment for low counts and a reaction to a blood transfusion, it was a lousy local hospital. MSKCC is an outstanding hospital but I was on the seventeenth floor and it was filled with Thoracic patients, some very young. I could not wait to get out of there. It really shook me up.
I will never take a breath for granted anymore. I swear! I am still sore. The surgeon doesn't understand what happened yet. He had never seen a reaction so extreme. At first they thought I was doing a Joan Rivers but my vitals were excellent the whole time. Even my oxygen levels were good (thanks to those Ig infusions I have been getting:-)
More will be revealed.
Fondly,
Sandy
Oh Sandy, I am glad to hear you are home, I hope you are taking it easy, I am sorry about your awakening experience. I can relate to the frightening feeling you must have felt, over 25 years ago I had foot surgery and was not able to come out of the anestesia, when I finally started to wake up I was on a respirator and could not move or speak, my brain was able to process incoming but due to a
Pseudocholinesterase deficiency I was still in a state of paralasis. I wish you well with the results and will send more positive energy and prayers your way, please keep us posted.
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I looked that upqv62 said:sandysp
Oh Sandy, I am glad to hear you are home, I hope you are taking it easy, I am sorry about your awakening experience. I can relate to the frightening feeling you must have felt, over 25 years ago I had foot surgery and was not able to come out of the anestesia, when I finally started to wake up I was on a respirator and could not move or speak, my brain was able to process incoming but due to a
Pseudocholinesterase deficiency I was still in a state of paralasis. I wish you well with the results and will send more positive energy and prayers your way, please keep us posted.
OMG that must have really been frightening! You have really been through the ringer, girlfriend.
I am praying all good things for your future.
Fondly,
Sandy
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Still no word on biopsysandysp said:I looked that up
OMG that must have really been frightening! You have really been through the ringer, girlfriend.
I am praying all good things for your future.
Fondly,
Sandy
They cancelled my tentative appointment for tomorrow saying the biopsies were not back yet. I have this feeling in my gut there is more to it than that but then again, when we are in this waiting period all bets are off for how the imagination can work.
I do know one thing about MSKCC though and that is that not one doctor ever really is calling the shots, they meet together and discuss findings of patients so that could be part of it too.
I'll let y'all know when I know. Thanks again for all your good wishes.
Fondly,
Sandy
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sandyspsandysp said:Still no word on biopsy
They cancelled my tentative appointment for tomorrow saying the biopsies were not back yet. I have this feeling in my gut there is more to it than that but then again, when we are in this waiting period all bets are off for how the imagination can work.
I do know one thing about MSKCC though and that is that not one doctor ever really is calling the shots, they meet together and discuss findings of patients so that could be part of it too.
I'll let y'all know when I know. Thanks again for all your good wishes.
Fondly,
Sandy
Hang in there, I so hate that "not back yet" period, I hope you hear something soon, I know the tumor board meets on Monday nights I would sometimes get a call at 8am on Tuesday morning after my case had been reviewed, keep us posted. You know I'm rooting for you every day !
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Thanks - that's a good tipqv62 said:sandysp
Hang in there, I so hate that "not back yet" period, I hope you hear something soon, I know the tumor board meets on Monday nights I would sometimes get a call at 8am on Tuesday morning after my case had been reviewed, keep us posted. You know I'm rooting for you every day !
Monday - for all tumors? Thanks for preparing me it might be next week.
I just went on line and saw that there is a machine called a fluorescent bronchoscopy which lights up in color healthy tissue as opposed to cancerous tissue. So he saw stuff. That he isn't talking gives me the heeby jeebies.
It's obviously not just a mucous plug or he would have said I am fine. That being said, he did a "lavage" treatment that actually has helped me with "blowing" air. I am still sore from whatever on my right side in my shoulder and down my back, sometimes in my chest. I am trying to make sure I don't hold my breath.
Well, speaking of breath - I'm off to Hot Yoga to at least take my mind off all this and to continue breathing:-).
Fondly,
Sandy
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