Now it's time to see an oncologist.
Dr.T's office was to make the appointment for us to see Dr.N
It was four or five days before we get a call with a date. We were told that Dr.N is with MD Anderson. You don't get any better than that!
Oh, remember my questions to my husband about What kind is it? How far along? Suggestions on how to get rid of it? CAN we get rid of it?.
My hubs didn't know any of the answers to my questions.......why? Because he didn't ask any questions. Why? I don't know.
So, from now on, I will have to go with him to all of his appointments if I want information.
Back to Dr.N, we arrive at his office in Katy. No where does it say MD Anderson. Getting a little suspicious, I snooped around. It's what I do..... Not necessarily proud of that nor am I ashamed. It is what it is, and works most of the time.......Guess where we are not? That's right, not MD Anderson, the number 1 cancer hospital in the world. Nope, this is not even close.....well actually we are close as far as distance because we're on the third floor. Anderson is on the 1st & 2nd floors of this building. The ladies were nice enough, but Dr.N must have been absent the day that personality and compassion were taught because he was severely lacking in those two qualities. Ok, we're here, so let's get on with it. He wants a PET Scan. It's set for 2 days later.
My research showed me that A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan is a unique type of imaging test that helps doctors see how the organs and tissues inside your body are actually functioning.
The test involves injecting a very small dose of a radioactive glucose, called a radiotracer, into the vein of your arm. The tracer travels through the body and is absorbed by the cancer. The cancer shows up on the images as a glowing spot on the body. There is downfall to this test however, arthritis and inflammation shows up as hot spots too.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
What Is cancer, exactly?
(I'm still not going to captilize the c in cancer)
cancer cells, in layman's terms, are *abnormal cells that grow uncontrolably within one's body. Most of the time, it is normal cells that have turned bad and attack the host instead of protecting the host.
The beginning......We were all born with a system called the IMMUNE SYSTEM that is broken down into many immune systems in every part of the body. Each system has a built-in monitor or protective mechanism that keeps that system functioning up to par. If we have a problem somewhere, it is because this immune system for that particular system failed us and permitted the enemy to enter. Examples of the various culprits that put a strain on our immune system are viruses, parasites, bacteria etc...you get the idea.
When these abnormal cells start growing and "bump" into each other, they multiply and continue to grow, even if they are running out of room in that particular part of the body, then lumps or tumors are formed. When cells get too numerous for this particular "home",(jump the "fence" into another part of the "neighborhood") they detach themselves from the tumor and move via the bloodstream to other parts of the body where they begin to form further tumors. This process is called metastasis.
When a cancer spreads from its original site to another area of the body, it is termed metastatic cancer.
Metastatic cancer cells invade lymph vessels and blood vessels near a tumor and migrate to other parts of the body. The cells in a metastatic tumor resemble those in the primary tumor and are usualy named the same as the primary. For example, breast cancer that spreads to the lungs and forms a metastatic tumor is metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer.
Some Key Points about Metastatic cancer
~Some people with metastatic tumors do not have symptoms. Their metastases are found by scans or other tests
~The most common sites of cancer metastasis are the lungs, bones, and liver.
~Treatment for metastatic cancer usually depends on the type of cancer and the size, location, and number of metastatic tumors.
Stages of cancer
Staging describes the severity of a person’s cancer based on the extent of the original (primary) tumor and whether or not cancer has spread in the body.
Stage I, Stage II, and Stage III
Higher numbers indicate more extensive disease: Larger tumor size and/or spread of the cancer beyond the organ in which it first developed to nearby lymph nodes and/or organs adjacent to the location of the primary tumor.
Stage IV
The cancer has spread to another organ(s).
*abnormal cells: abnormal number of chromosomes in some cells, where certain ones have incorporated a number of extra chromosomes while others wind up with too few.
cancer cells, in layman's terms, are *abnormal cells that grow uncontrolably within one's body. Most of the time, it is normal cells that have turned bad and attack the host instead of protecting the host.
The beginning......We were all born with a system called the IMMUNE SYSTEM that is broken down into many immune systems in every part of the body. Each system has a built-in monitor or protective mechanism that keeps that system functioning up to par. If we have a problem somewhere, it is because this immune system for that particular system failed us and permitted the enemy to enter. Examples of the various culprits that put a strain on our immune system are viruses, parasites, bacteria etc...you get the idea.
When these abnormal cells start growing and "bump" into each other, they multiply and continue to grow, even if they are running out of room in that particular part of the body, then lumps or tumors are formed. When cells get too numerous for this particular "home",(jump the "fence" into another part of the "neighborhood") they detach themselves from the tumor and move via the bloodstream to other parts of the body where they begin to form further tumors. This process is called metastasis.
When a cancer spreads from its original site to another area of the body, it is termed metastatic cancer.
Metastatic cancer cells invade lymph vessels and blood vessels near a tumor and migrate to other parts of the body. The cells in a metastatic tumor resemble those in the primary tumor and are usualy named the same as the primary. For example, breast cancer that spreads to the lungs and forms a metastatic tumor is metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer.Some Key Points about Metastatic cancer
~Some people with metastatic tumors do not have symptoms. Their metastases are found by scans or other tests
~The most common sites of cancer metastasis are the lungs, bones, and liver.
~Treatment for metastatic cancer usually depends on the type of cancer and the size, location, and number of metastatic tumors.
Stages of cancer
Staging describes the severity of a person’s cancer based on the extent of the original (primary) tumor and whether or not cancer has spread in the body.
Stage I, Stage II, and Stage III
Higher numbers indicate more extensive disease: Larger tumor size and/or spread of the cancer beyond the organ in which it first developed to nearby lymph nodes and/or organs adjacent to the location of the primary tumor.
Stage IV
The cancer has spread to another organ(s).
*abnormal cells: abnormal number of chromosomes in some cells, where certain ones have incorporated a number of extra chromosomes while others wind up with too few.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Worst News
I never dreamed that LD would ever have a life threatening disease, bad things happen to someone else or on tv. Everyone knows that!
It is cancer....squamous cell carcinoma. His knotty neck is full of horrible, nasty cancer cells. (I will not give cancer the respect of capitalizing it's c. Not that it really cares or is even insulted, cancer's going to live where it wants to whether I capitalize or not.) Moving on.........Have you ever heard this phrase "I have cancer" from a loved one, friend, acquaintance? If you're like me, the moment you hear those words, it's like someone has just kicked you in your stomach. Of course, the days and weeks before the results came in, my stomach was tied up in knots....the pun is intended. I can't even begin to imagine what my husband was going through.
Ahhh but remember back after the CT Scan?? The radiologist's report said it definitely was not that nastiness of a disease, so my husband probably wasn't expecting to hear "cancer". I know that he truly believed it was something else, because after all, the professional's findings reported it wasn't cancer. So, if there needs to be a moral of this paragraph, it is even professionals can get it wrong. That's why we have second opinions. Don't be afraid to get one.
Back to that day, February 23, 2012, the day after LD's birthday. I will always remember watching him drive up to the house, walk slowly out to the back yard where I was sitting on the swing and then our daughter walking to us, already tearing up. Our lives are now changed forever........it seems that everything was moving in slow motion. The words that I didn't want to hear came out and I couldn't do anything to stop them..............It is definitely cancer.
A few minutes of our daughter crying, me in shock and the three of us hugging in the middle of the back yard, my senses finally came back to me. I started asking questions. What kind of cancer? How far along is it? What were his suggestions on how to get rid of it? CAN we get rid of it?.
It is cancer....squamous cell carcinoma. His knotty neck is full of horrible, nasty cancer cells. (I will not give cancer the respect of capitalizing it's c. Not that it really cares or is even insulted, cancer's going to live where it wants to whether I capitalize or not.) Moving on.........Have you ever heard this phrase "I have cancer" from a loved one, friend, acquaintance? If you're like me, the moment you hear those words, it's like someone has just kicked you in your stomach. Of course, the days and weeks before the results came in, my stomach was tied up in knots....the pun is intended. I can't even begin to imagine what my husband was going through.
Ahhh but remember back after the CT Scan?? The radiologist's report said it definitely was not that nastiness of a disease, so my husband probably wasn't expecting to hear "cancer". I know that he truly believed it was something else, because after all, the professional's findings reported it wasn't cancer. So, if there needs to be a moral of this paragraph, it is even professionals can get it wrong. That's why we have second opinions. Don't be afraid to get one.
Back to that day, February 23, 2012, the day after LD's birthday. I will always remember watching him drive up to the house, walk slowly out to the back yard where I was sitting on the swing and then our daughter walking to us, already tearing up. Our lives are now changed forever........it seems that everything was moving in slow motion. The words that I didn't want to hear came out and I couldn't do anything to stop them..............It is definitely cancer.
A few minutes of our daughter crying, me in shock and the three of us hugging in the middle of the back yard, my senses finally came back to me. I started asking questions. What kind of cancer? How far along is it? What were his suggestions on how to get rid of it? CAN we get rid of it?.
And So We Begin on Our New Journey
First let me give you a bit of background on my husband. He has been very healthy, no serious signs of wear and tear over the years. He hardly ever goes to the doctor. So I must say that I am very proud of him for going about his knots right away. Whatever they turn out to be, we are giving thanks that we "caught it early"..... Or so we thought.
The needle aspiration really hurt LD's neck. He came home after his appointment feeling a little uncomfortable. As the evening wore on, his neck began to swell. As the days past, more bumps and knots appeared. It was getting to the point that he couldn't sleep and was hurting all the time now.....and let me tell you, my hubs NEVER has trouble sleeping! He's one of those people that is asleep before his head hits the pillow!! Ok, so here we are trying to be patient, waiting for the test results. It ended up being over a week before we found out. I couldn't go to this appointment with him, but I was trusting that he would ask plenty of questions. One of my daughters and granddaughter were waiting with me. His appointment time was 2:00pm. When it was around 3:30 we were really getting anxious, so I called him. He had just left, was on his way home and would tell us all about it when he got here. Knowing my husband as well as I do, that was not a good sign. I walked outside to be alone for a few minutes and pray. Asking God, to please help me to be strong for LD and my family, please if it was his will, let the news not be too terribly bad. I knew our life was about to change, I just didn't know how much.
The needle aspiration really hurt LD's neck. He came home after his appointment feeling a little uncomfortable. As the evening wore on, his neck began to swell. As the days past, more bumps and knots appeared. It was getting to the point that he couldn't sleep and was hurting all the time now.....and let me tell you, my hubs NEVER has trouble sleeping! He's one of those people that is asleep before his head hits the pillow!! Ok, so here we are trying to be patient, waiting for the test results. It ended up being over a week before we found out. I couldn't go to this appointment with him, but I was trusting that he would ask plenty of questions. One of my daughters and granddaughter were waiting with me. His appointment time was 2:00pm. When it was around 3:30 we were really getting anxious, so I called him. He had just left, was on his way home and would tell us all about it when he got here. Knowing my husband as well as I do, that was not a good sign. I walked outside to be alone for a few minutes and pray. Asking God, to please help me to be strong for LD and my family, please if it was his will, let the news not be too terribly bad. I knew our life was about to change, I just didn't know how much.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
What The New Year Brought Us
2012........I'm sure for most of you it's been a relatively uneventful year so far. Not for the Browns unfortunately.
I missed spending New Years Eve with my husband LD, the first time in 22 years. I made a trip to visit my mother who was in the hospital and not doing well. (that's another story i'll fill you in on later.) Arriving back home on the 3rd, I find that LD had gone to our Dr. to get his regular blood work done. All tests were perfect! Hubs had felt a knot on the right side of his neck, possibly his Lymph Nodes, right before New Years Eve. He thought it was nothing until another small one came up after his blood work visit. He went back to our Dr (we will call him Dr.D) to have it checked out. For the next 10 days, LD would be taking a very strong jantibiotics, both he and Dr.D thought the knots were an infection in the Lymph Nodes.
Ten days later.......
The knots are still there and actually have multiplied. Now Dr.D orders a CT Scan for Monday the 23rd. This was the beginning of "Waiting for results" that will become a normal routine in our life, at this time we had no clue how much. Thursday the 26th we heard from Dr.D about the scan results. The radiologist from Memorial reported that "the bumps are a mass of dead tissue, certainly and most definetly is NOT a tumor". My husband was elated at the news, I however was still worried. I'm really not sure why, maybe it was instinct, maybe thinking that it could be a mis-diagnosis or knowing that if it was dead tissue, then why the heck did it die....that couldn't be good!
Dr.1 wanted to send my husband to a surgeon, Dr.T, quite possibly to cut the mass of dead tissue out. Waiting now for Dr.D to let us know when the new appointment will be, another week goes by with no news...... Now we're in the month of February. Finally LD gets his apt with the surgeon. Dr.T said, "let's do a needle aspiration before any cutting occurs". February 15th, my husband goes for a biopsy, bless his heart, they stuck 5 very large needles in his neck of knots.
I missed spending New Years Eve with my husband LD, the first time in 22 years. I made a trip to visit my mother who was in the hospital and not doing well. (that's another story i'll fill you in on later.) Arriving back home on the 3rd, I find that LD had gone to our Dr. to get his regular blood work done. All tests were perfect! Hubs had felt a knot on the right side of his neck, possibly his Lymph Nodes, right before New Years Eve. He thought it was nothing until another small one came up after his blood work visit. He went back to our Dr (we will call him Dr.D) to have it checked out. For the next 10 days, LD would be taking a very strong jantibiotics, both he and Dr.D thought the knots were an infection in the Lymph Nodes.
Ten days later.......
The knots are still there and actually have multiplied. Now Dr.D orders a CT Scan for Monday the 23rd. This was the beginning of "Waiting for results" that will become a normal routine in our life, at this time we had no clue how much. Thursday the 26th we heard from Dr.D about the scan results. The radiologist from Memorial reported that "the bumps are a mass of dead tissue, certainly and most definetly is NOT a tumor". My husband was elated at the news, I however was still worried. I'm really not sure why, maybe it was instinct, maybe thinking that it could be a mis-diagnosis or knowing that if it was dead tissue, then why the heck did it die....that couldn't be good!
Dr.1 wanted to send my husband to a surgeon, Dr.T, quite possibly to cut the mass of dead tissue out. Waiting now for Dr.D to let us know when the new appointment will be, another week goes by with no news...... Now we're in the month of February. Finally LD gets his apt with the surgeon. Dr.T said, "let's do a needle aspiration before any cutting occurs". February 15th, my husband goes for a biopsy, bless his heart, they stuck 5 very large needles in his neck of knots.
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