Jill
Aspiring Cowgirl
08/11/09: This morning, at Prince William Hospital (about 2hrs away), I have my bronchoscopy. It's supposed to be at 10:30. Dr. Foley said there's a chance she may not be able to biopsy depending on how vascular it is, but I guess this will give her a better look at it anyhow. She's already told me what she thinks it is and the next step which was all good news to say the least based on what I had been afraid of before meeting with her last Friday. I am a little nervous, but not too bad. She said when I get there, they will put something in the IV to relax me prior to the anesthesia. Haven't been able to drink / eat since midnight so of course, KNOWING I cannot have any water makes me thirsty as can be... and no coffee. Man, that's rough!!!
08/12/09: Today, I have a special PET / CT Fusion scan in Annandale, VA. It's scheduled for 2:30 and takes about 2 - 2.5 hours. I had fasted yesterday and then for dinner couldn't have any carbs because of this scan today -- and no coffee now two mornings in a row and no food until this evening. Blah... But hopefully all will go well. The bronchoscopy was not too bad really at all even though I was nervous beforehand and it took "extra" sleepy stuff to simmer me down
08/13/09:The PET/CT Fusion scan was okay as far as the "experience". My doctor should have the results today and I see her tomorrow afternoon. I'm just scared if they found something more than we expected them to find... I guess that's what anyone would be scared of. On Friday before I see the doctor (pulmonologist), I have a "V/Q Nuclear" scan and an Xray at the hospital in Warrenton then on to the hospital in Manassas to see the Pulmonologist. With all these radioactive tests, I betcha I glow in the dark soon!
Today, this afternoon, I have a client / prospect seminar at a country club about an hour and a half from home but it should wrap up early as far as our part goes (we talk, we leave, they eat). Might help me keep my mind occupied.
Hoping when I see the pulmonologist tomorrow, she doesn't have unexpected news and maybe can give me an idea of if it may be with a camera or traditional surgery and if she has an idea of how long until the surgery. She may not have an idea of either but I'm going to ask. I see the surgeon on Tuesday early afternoon.
I am thankful this is all being dealt with quickly. It has only been less than 2wks since we found out there was a lesion and I've already seen a specialist, had the biopsy, had a high end PET scan, and have another special scan tomorrow. I'm not sure if I lived further away from a place as affluent as Northern VA if I'd have such "easy" access to these top specialists... so I am grateful.
08/14/09: This morning, I had this "V/Q Nuclear Scan" along with another xray. I got to breathe radioactive gas for 6 minutes, and then get a radioactive injection. With this, the prior xrays, CT scan and and special PET/CT Fusion scan the past week -- I do not think I will be able to sneak up on anyone after dark. I probably am going to be glowing
After the scans this morning, I went to see the Pulmonologist. She said the biopsy actually came back negative, but she knows it's cancer from how it looked. She just wasn't able to get enough of it (I was coughing apparently -- twilight sort of memories of it, because the nurses had spilled formaldehyde on the blanket!). But the CT / PET Fusion scan "lit up" there which indicates cancer. They had giving me an injection of some sort of radioactive glucose which will concentrate in cancer cells and then show up on the image. We expected it to show that but the PHEW is it showed it only there in my lung. If there's any other cancer anywhere else, it is way too small to be seen so this is really good. I already accepted this "lesion" is cancer and it is not that hard to fix and put behind me from what Dr. Foley (pulmonologist) has explained, but I had been getting worked up emotionally this week with all the addition "extravagant" testing worried we'd find it was all over my body.
I see the surgeon on Tuesday and will know more about when the surgery will happen, but Dr. Foley said she'd think it will happen within a week or two. She said she's even had patients go see this doctor and have surgery the next day. The surgeon may be able to tell me if he thinks he can do with cameras, or the more traditional way. W/ cameras and I'm in the hospital about 3 days, the regular way, about 5 days. Dr. Foley wasn't exactly sure on my "at home" recovery time or when I could drive as apparently I get to have some of the real good pain killers (ahhhh... the silver lining...).
Dr. Foley was surprised at how "chipper" I was when we talked after I remarked that she probably never saw such a smiling person with a cancer diagnosis. I told her I'd just gotten re-worked up scared it would be all over me and inoperable. I'm so happy she thinks this will be easy to fix. After I am "on my feet" from surgery, she will have me see an oncologist to be see if I need chemo or radiation. She didn't think I would, but obviously, we need to find out for sure and I want to be aggressive as we can be. She said "IF" I need it, it will be probably just 6wks of it and then I'd be done. Then like every 6mos or so I get a CT scan or xray (now I forget which she said). I shouldn't need another PET / CT Fusion scan unless something is detected with the xray or CT routine.
PHEW!!! By the time most people have a cough and go in, it has spread. The only only only reason I even got a chest xray was the needle in a haystack to rule out that I'd caught anything from those colts I got from another farm last fall who had Rhodo. Pneumonia and died despite aggressive treatment with our vets... How ironic that loosing them and going through what we do now to protect our foals actually probably saved my life since throwing this out at my endocrinologist is what got me referred to an infectious disease doctor who, thank God, ordered a chest xray. I've never been a smoker, have had no coughing, no nothing to ever suspect I had a lung problem and my lung function tested at 65% -- which I also was never aware of (but maybe that explains the tiredness). Only a small amount of my lung is impacted by this, but it is blocking the airway to that lung. Maybe it coming out will improve it but "whatever". I'm just happy that this is continuing to look like a good outcome.
08/12/09: Today, I have a special PET / CT Fusion scan in Annandale, VA. It's scheduled for 2:30 and takes about 2 - 2.5 hours. I had fasted yesterday and then for dinner couldn't have any carbs because of this scan today -- and no coffee now two mornings in a row and no food until this evening. Blah... But hopefully all will go well. The bronchoscopy was not too bad really at all even though I was nervous beforehand and it took "extra" sleepy stuff to simmer me down
08/13/09:The PET/CT Fusion scan was okay as far as the "experience". My doctor should have the results today and I see her tomorrow afternoon. I'm just scared if they found something more than we expected them to find... I guess that's what anyone would be scared of. On Friday before I see the doctor (pulmonologist), I have a "V/Q Nuclear" scan and an Xray at the hospital in Warrenton then on to the hospital in Manassas to see the Pulmonologist. With all these radioactive tests, I betcha I glow in the dark soon!
Today, this afternoon, I have a client / prospect seminar at a country club about an hour and a half from home but it should wrap up early as far as our part goes (we talk, we leave, they eat). Might help me keep my mind occupied.
Hoping when I see the pulmonologist tomorrow, she doesn't have unexpected news and maybe can give me an idea of if it may be with a camera or traditional surgery and if she has an idea of how long until the surgery. She may not have an idea of either but I'm going to ask. I see the surgeon on Tuesday early afternoon.
I am thankful this is all being dealt with quickly. It has only been less than 2wks since we found out there was a lesion and I've already seen a specialist, had the biopsy, had a high end PET scan, and have another special scan tomorrow. I'm not sure if I lived further away from a place as affluent as Northern VA if I'd have such "easy" access to these top specialists... so I am grateful.
08/14/09: This morning, I had this "V/Q Nuclear Scan" along with another xray. I got to breathe radioactive gas for 6 minutes, and then get a radioactive injection. With this, the prior xrays, CT scan and and special PET/CT Fusion scan the past week -- I do not think I will be able to sneak up on anyone after dark. I probably am going to be glowing
After the scans this morning, I went to see the Pulmonologist. She said the biopsy actually came back negative, but she knows it's cancer from how it looked. She just wasn't able to get enough of it (I was coughing apparently -- twilight sort of memories of it, because the nurses had spilled formaldehyde on the blanket!). But the CT / PET Fusion scan "lit up" there which indicates cancer. They had giving me an injection of some sort of radioactive glucose which will concentrate in cancer cells and then show up on the image. We expected it to show that but the PHEW is it showed it only there in my lung. If there's any other cancer anywhere else, it is way too small to be seen so this is really good. I already accepted this "lesion" is cancer and it is not that hard to fix and put behind me from what Dr. Foley (pulmonologist) has explained, but I had been getting worked up emotionally this week with all the addition "extravagant" testing worried we'd find it was all over my body.
I see the surgeon on Tuesday and will know more about when the surgery will happen, but Dr. Foley said she'd think it will happen within a week or two. She said she's even had patients go see this doctor and have surgery the next day. The surgeon may be able to tell me if he thinks he can do with cameras, or the more traditional way. W/ cameras and I'm in the hospital about 3 days, the regular way, about 5 days. Dr. Foley wasn't exactly sure on my "at home" recovery time or when I could drive as apparently I get to have some of the real good pain killers (ahhhh... the silver lining...).
Dr. Foley was surprised at how "chipper" I was when we talked after I remarked that she probably never saw such a smiling person with a cancer diagnosis. I told her I'd just gotten re-worked up scared it would be all over me and inoperable. I'm so happy she thinks this will be easy to fix. After I am "on my feet" from surgery, she will have me see an oncologist to be see if I need chemo or radiation. She didn't think I would, but obviously, we need to find out for sure and I want to be aggressive as we can be. She said "IF" I need it, it will be probably just 6wks of it and then I'd be done. Then like every 6mos or so I get a CT scan or xray (now I forget which she said). I shouldn't need another PET / CT Fusion scan unless something is detected with the xray or CT routine.
PHEW!!! By the time most people have a cough and go in, it has spread. The only only only reason I even got a chest xray was the needle in a haystack to rule out that I'd caught anything from those colts I got from another farm last fall who had Rhodo. Pneumonia and died despite aggressive treatment with our vets... How ironic that loosing them and going through what we do now to protect our foals actually probably saved my life since throwing this out at my endocrinologist is what got me referred to an infectious disease doctor who, thank God, ordered a chest xray. I've never been a smoker, have had no coughing, no nothing to ever suspect I had a lung problem and my lung function tested at 65% -- which I also was never aware of (but maybe that explains the tiredness). Only a small amount of my lung is impacted by this, but it is blocking the airway to that lung. Maybe it coming out will improve it but "whatever". I'm just happy that this is continuing to look like a good outcome.
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