Clean Scans
I had a partial neph almost 13 months ago, so I just had my second round of monitoring tests. Chest x-ray on July 3rd was "unremarkable" (a lovely word to read on an x-ray). I had my CT scan yesterday and my surgeon just sent the results - everything looked great. Since it was an abdominal scan (and since I've had other abdmonial problems in my life), I was also happy to see that no other issues in any other body parts they could see were noted.
I go to see them next Tuesday to, I assume, hear that I'll get a scan or an ultrasound in another six months.
I'm, of course, very grateful that the scans have turned out fine, but my joy is rather muted because of what my 90 year old mother-in-law is going through. She was diagnosed in March with micro-polyangitis. It's a form of vasculitis that attacks the kidneys and/or the lungs. In her case, it went after her kidneys. Her only hope of a recovery was a treatment with high doses of prednisone (a steroid) and a very dilluted dose of a drug, rituximab, that in 100% strength is used as a chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients. Unfortunately, the treatment didn't work and has left her in dialysis and severely weakened to such a degree that she pretty much requires 24/7 assistance for everything. Very, very sad.
The only lesson that can be learned from this is to make sure that you review the results of every single test you get and, if you don't understand something or if something is out of the normal range for the test you've taken, ask.....ask.....ask.
Comments
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Glad your news is good!
We like to hear that.
Sorry your m-i-l is going thru sad times. It is always difficult to hear about anyone Dx'd wtih a disease that I'd never heard of, let alone the age. But it also makes me realize that the ability to diagnose it and offer a treatment or palliative care have come such a long way in 10-20 and even 30 years.
Take care of yourself, your spouse, and give the m-i-l a hug from me.
donna_lee
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Thanks folks. I really am
Thanks folks. I really am happy that the results came in the way that they did. Donna_lee, the fact that they could even diagnose what was wrong with her was amazing in and of itself. My kidney issue was first uncovered by a hospital that my primary care physician is associated with. For treatment, he said my insurance would cover treatment by a urologist associated with that hospital, with a larger hospital group in San Francisco, or with Stanford University Hospital. It took a nano-second to choose Stanford. Ironically, her primary is associated with the same hospital that my primary is. However, with MediCare, she could choose any hospital we wanted for her. We initially thought Stanford again, but because the majority of her children and grand-children live close to San Francisco, we chose UC San Francisco. The level of medical there has been absolutely amazing and I seriously doubt she would be alive today if we had taken her to the small hospital. There wasn't a snowball's chance they would have had the diagnosticians to figure this one out.
Consider your hug delivered.
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Congrats on the results. May
Congrats on the results. May you continue to see NED. Sorry about your mother-in-law.
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Met with the nurse
Met with the nurse practitioner in lieu of the surgeon, as he had an emergency the day of my appointment. She said the doc has put me on a one year schedule for a CT/chest x-ray now. While I would have preferred an unltrasound, I don'tmind the CT as it covers a greater area of my innards and since I've had non-cancer related intenstinal issues in the past, a periodic look-see doesn't hurt.
On the mother-in-law front, all of your good wishes seem to have worked. She's doing marginally better and getting a little more strength as her dose of prednisone is tapered.
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Thankful for your good news!
Hope your mother in law is getting better each day.
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Thankful for your good news!
Hope your mother in law is getting better each day.
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So glad to hear about...
... Your great test results. UCSF is a good place, especially with the bonus of having family around. All the best to your MIL and family. May you be able to use this season in your lives to celebrate and share your stories and blessings.
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She seems to be improving on
She seems to be improving on a steady basis, with a few steps back once in a while. As the prednisone has tapered (from as high as 50mg to 4mg as of today), she's gotten stronger, but also feistier. she has no appetite, so feeding her is a challenge. But today, with assistance, she walked from her bed to the living room sofa.
She does seem like "Contrary Woman" though. How many people actually come out of a dialysis session MORE energized than when they went in? Well, she does. But my wife and I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment seeing her improvement.
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Sounds like...Bay Area Guy said:She seems to be improving on
She seems to be improving on a steady basis, with a few steps back once in a while. As the prednisone has tapered (from as high as 50mg to 4mg as of today), she's gotten stronger, but also feistier. she has no appetite, so feeding her is a challenge. But today, with assistance, she walked from her bed to the living room sofa.
She does seem like "Contrary Woman" though. How many people actually come out of a dialysis session MORE energized than when they went in? Well, she does. But my wife and I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment seeing her improvement.
This woman needs a cape (What's YOUR super power?)!
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LOL. About my only superJerzyGrrl said:Sounds like...
This woman needs a cape (What's YOUR super power?)!
LOL. About my only super power is being super dumb!
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