Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cancer: Part 4 - PET Scan Results

I got the results from the PET scan I had a week ago. I, and my mother, met with Dr. M2 this afternoon.

The scan results indicate that the three tumors in my neck, all lymph nodes, have reduced in size significantly. The also have much less "uptake" than before. The "uptake" reading indicates how fast the cells are eating up the radioactive sugars. Mine were listed as a "3" on the scale of 0 to 9. 0 is dead, 3 is normal and 9 is a very aggressive tumor. There is also a small indication of something in my right side neck, and a nearly invisible micro-spot on my right lung.

Some of this sounds good, some bad. I assure you, the news is pretty good! The indication is that the tumors are now nothing more than scar tissue-filled lymph nodes, which will often show normal on a PET scan but still be visible on the adjoining CAT scan. Scar tissue is oftentimes more dense than normal tissue, so it is more visible on CAT scans. Due to the normal uptake of the glucose, there is a great chance that the cancer has been eliminated. The spot on the right side of my neck is most likely damage from radiation, and the spot on my lung is related to an incident of severe pneumonia I had back in 1989. The largest tumor started out at 1" in size, it is now less than 2/3 of an inch, so the treatments have had a definite effect.

I am to get in to see the E, N and T doctor, Dr. S, sometime next week, and he will make a determination whether to operate and remove the nodes, or if they think waiting it out and seeing if they reduce even more is an option. Either way, as of now there will be no more radiation or chemotherapy. The plan in the beginning was to try to reduce the size of the tumors, and if they are not completely gone, then at least surgery to eliminate them will be considerably less invasive.

I have also lost more weight, I am down to 210 lbs. As a friend of mine said today, this was both a blessing and a curse. I now, officially, have no pants that fit. A visit to JCPenney's is in order!

6 comments:

Shari said...

Congratulations on the encouraging results! I must say that some of your initial statements about what was on your neck and lungs had me holding my breath, but you explained it well.

How many more of these checks and treatments will you have to go through?

badmoodguy (Бадмўдгуи) said...

If everything works out in the next few Dr appointments and I don't have to have surgery, then I will have a PET scan every 4-6 months for about 2 years.

If I have to have surgery, the same will apply, I would just be in the hospital for a bit.

Thankfully, I still have some Extended Illness time available.

I had hoped to create some tension with my story! LOL! I'm cool with everything that was said, but I think mother is freaking out. She called father and then he called me just a little bit ago to talk about it. There really is not much to talk about.

Thank you for your concern, too! If you are around any temples, light some incense and give a shout-out to the local deity for me. :)

Turner said...

Your reactions are in line with what I think I'd do; interesting experience, to say the least.. glad you're going to be ok.

badmoodguy (Бадмўдгуи) said...

Why, thank you! Yes, it is quite the interesting experience. I never in a million years imagined that I would ever go through something like this.

Nor did I imagine that I would ever lose almost 90 pounds in one shot. I think that is the hardest part to get used to!

My E, N & T doctor, Dr. S, has me scheduled for a contrast CT in February. This is the annoying one...the injectable dye "burns" from the inside out! That is a freaky feeling. I'll have pics of that, too. LOL! :)

Turner said...

Then, as someone pondering hypothetical situations, which would you rather have, a mild form of cancer or a broken limb?

badmoodguy (Бадмўдгуи) said...

That is a very interesting question! I have never had a broken bone, so I know not the amount of pain and anguish involved. I would have to answer, probably a broken bone, since the chances of issues down the road are far less with a broken bone than with cancer.

Cancer has a tendency to spread around uninvited if not cared for in a timely manner or properly, and the treatments are less than pleasant after a time. But you can get time off work and lots more sympathy! Broken bones generally don't evoke the same emotional response from others as cancer, especially if you were doing something stupid to get the bone broken in the first place! :)