We are now in September and we have met with Dr. Goff the surgeon on September 10th. He was very thorough and explained to us the risks and scenarios that might take place during the surgery. There is probably one nerve and vein that they will have to sacrifice but he feels they are already not working because of how my diaphragm on the left side isn't working and the vein is where the blot clot was and the tumor had it closed off as well and the blood has re-routed itself and so I haven't been using it for some time. He did say he wanted to check with some other cancer centers to make sure that there isn't some other treatment they should be doing per-operation. He said it was good that the tumor shrunk 60% and he had hoped it would have shrunk more to make sure that he can take out all of it. Worst case scenario, he may have to leave some of the tumor in if it is close to some arteries that they can't mess around with. If that is the case then there may be some treatment of chemo with radiation but we won't know until we get the surgery.
The surgery is scheduled for September 26th. Dr. Goff has already spoken with the National Cancer Institute in D.C., and the medical oncologist who authored the papers on how to treat thymic cancer. This medical oncologist said that Dr. Goff and Johnson have done everything he would have done and that surgery is the best option now. He said he would look at the CT scans and let Dr. Goff know if there is anything else he can offer in terms of input after reviewing them. Dr. Goff said it was comforting to know that the person who authored the treatment of thymic cancer agreed that they have done the right treatment. So until then to all my friends and family, we'll be looking towards the 26th and from there I promise to be more prompt in getting an update on the blog. I ask for your continued prayers, faith, and thoughts on behalf of myself and my family. As my dad told me on every letter during my two years on a mission: "Keep the Faith"
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