wishing it was Lymphoma
we really don't want to be dealing with the C word at all
That is what our family was thinking New Years Eve when Beth and Mike told us the radiologist thought it might be stress fractures in his hips and the place on his brain might be lymphoma.
blood work
MRI
talk of a hip biopsy
waiting
Scrambling to get the house in order and make a list of the stuff you need for someone going through the inevitable chemo that was in the near future.
And privately as a family, praying for the medical professionals to have wisdom and discernment as they did further testing so that we could ask people to pray with us when we knew what it was we were asking for.
the next week
"it might be leukemia"
so we prayed for lymphoma instead
more testing and waiting
last week
"it might be small cell lung cancer, but if it is, it is early"
we were told lymphoma and small cell cancer cells can look a lot alike
so we hoped for lymphoma
more testing
more waiting
Monday of this week, January 14 we got a diagnosis
confirmed small cell,
but not early,
extensive stage that has metastasized to the other places that lit up on the PET scan-
hips
shoulders
ribs
femur
skull
a biopsy of the fluid around the skull was scheduled for Tuesday
but there wasn't sufficient fluid to perform it
chemo was planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
what Mike was diagnosed with is aggressive,
we have to attack it hard
and we wish it was lymphoma instead
no chemo today, Wednesday
no chemo tomorrow either because another test needs done
the doctors and pathologists (4 pathologists)
cannot come to a consensus
and the biopsy they need to do to confirm the diagnosis has to be scheduled at another hospital
so probably no chemo Friday either
they do not want to start the wrong treatment
so we hurry up and wait,
because there is a 5% chance it isn't extensive small cell carcinoma,
but another type of lung cancer
now we are praying Mike is one of those in that small window
This is a brief synopsis of what our family has been facing the last two weeks-of what many other families deal with when doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong and what the best treatment is. We are thankful they want to get it right-but this ping pong ball like existence is exhausting. And it may help you understand why people are hesitant to share all that is going on-when diagnosis' and treatment plans change, sometimes several times a day, you can hardly wrap your mind around it-and you don't want to feel like you are misleading anyone, so you keep quiet, desperately knowing you need and want prayer and moral support-but not sure how or what to ask for.
That is what our family was thinking New Years Eve when Beth and Mike told us the radiologist thought it might be stress fractures in his hips and the place on his brain might be lymphoma.
blood work
MRI
talk of a hip biopsy
waiting
Scrambling to get the house in order and make a list of the stuff you need for someone going through the inevitable chemo that was in the near future.
And privately as a family, praying for the medical professionals to have wisdom and discernment as they did further testing so that we could ask people to pray with us when we knew what it was we were asking for.
the next week
"it might be leukemia"
so we prayed for lymphoma instead
more testing and waiting
last week
"it might be small cell lung cancer, but if it is, it is early"
we were told lymphoma and small cell cancer cells can look a lot alike
so we hoped for lymphoma
more testing
more waiting
Monday of this week, January 14 we got a diagnosis
confirmed small cell,
but not early,
extensive stage that has metastasized to the other places that lit up on the PET scan-
hips
shoulders
ribs
femur
skull
a biopsy of the fluid around the skull was scheduled for Tuesday
but there wasn't sufficient fluid to perform it
chemo was planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
what Mike was diagnosed with is aggressive,
we have to attack it hard
and we wish it was lymphoma instead
no chemo today, Wednesday
no chemo tomorrow either because another test needs done
the doctors and pathologists (4 pathologists)
cannot come to a consensus
and the biopsy they need to do to confirm the diagnosis has to be scheduled at another hospital
so probably no chemo Friday either
they do not want to start the wrong treatment
so we hurry up and wait,
because there is a 5% chance it isn't extensive small cell carcinoma,
but another type of lung cancer
now we are praying Mike is one of those in that small window
This is a brief synopsis of what our family has been facing the last two weeks-of what many other families deal with when doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong and what the best treatment is. We are thankful they want to get it right-but this ping pong ball like existence is exhausting. And it may help you understand why people are hesitant to share all that is going on-when diagnosis' and treatment plans change, sometimes several times a day, you can hardly wrap your mind around it-and you don't want to feel like you are misleading anyone, so you keep quiet, desperately knowing you need and want prayer and moral support-but not sure how or what to ask for.
Comments
Post a Comment
thank you for taking the time to share