So. I met with an oncologist at Johns Hopkins today. After an aggravatingly long wait to see him, I got the news that my PET scan was not "clean". It was actually quite "lit up" as in glow-y but not in a good way. This glowy-ness included the spot on my liver that was previously deemed as "normal". So NOT how I was expecting this appointment to go. Other glow-y spots seen include a whole bunch of lymph nodes and a larger "spot" in my pelvis. Kidney looks ok. Yay for small victories.
And...the rollercoaster of emotions rolls on...
What does this new information reveal? A whole lot more frustration and mystery, but no diagnosis. The Hopkins oncologist is asking me to get EVERYTHING collected...from the actual pathology slides collected during my 2008 cervical cancer surgery to the results of the liver biopsy (including a photograph of the needle going into the liver mass). He isn't convinced those cells are "normal". He gave me the 2 most likely scenarios (in his opinion). One is cancer (based on the PET scan results and my history of cancer). Two is an autoimmune reaction (based on the PET scan results and my current autoimmune issues...re: my eyeball). I suppose the only way to rule out cancer is to have another biopsy done...this time of a lymph node, but he wants to read the liver biopsy report first before we do that.
So...that's the latest. I am trying not to get too worked up because tomorrow someone may say it's nothing. I have no control over this rollercoaster and I just have to hope that it lands safely in the station at the end of the ride.
On a somewhat separate note, but not really...I am seeing an acupuncturist tomorrow. I went to this particular acupuncturist about a decade ago and I really felt that he helped me. Some may find this approach "hokey" but I think those old-school Traditional Chinese Medicine folks are onto something. Either way...it can't hurt! What's a few more needles!? Heh.
No comments:
Post a Comment