K
KathyC
Guest
For those of you following my DH's medical problems here the latest: saw the oncologist/hematologist last Fri. He had DH's entire chart right out of our internist's office for 5 days before our visit & had studied it thoroughly; he also consulted with other specialists & radiologists. He spent approx 45 min with us going over EVERYTHING. He said he had to agree with our internist that by all accounts it looked like prostate cancer that had spread to the spine but he said we had 2 excellent biopsies done & that he was clear of cancer on both counts. Said he does not want to get our hopes up but although this looks like cancer somewhere in his body, he doe NOT think it is cancer. However, he has not ruled out some form of lymphoma & if it is lymphoma it is stage 4 & there is nothing they can do except keep Mike comfortable. They are also looking for some kind of immune disease, weird infection or even some kind of fungus. This dr described the areas on his spine as lesions & also told us that the 1 spot he had on his lungs in mid Aug has now become numerous spots (this showed up by accident on the last CT of the abdomen where it caught the lower part of the lungs). Had numerous lab tests Fri afternoon that were sent to Mayo Clinic & also had a brain scan. Has set us up with a neurologist but can't get in til Nov 28th as the 1 dr he wants us to see is out of town; says this guy is the best in the area & doesn't want us to get started with anyone else. In the mean time we have a Pet Scan this Thurs; our insurance will not pay for it but dr learned that a radiology group here just got a pet scan machine & this wk only are doing trial runs by giving "free" scans to those in real need. We do have to pay $250 of our own money to cover the cost of whatever it is that goes thru the IV but we jumped at the chance as this test is supposed to show if you have cancer ANYWHERE in your body. If we can totally eliminate the cancer factor perhaps we can focus on the immune/infection aspect. He said this is truly a Sherlock Holmes mystery but assured us he will get to the bottom of it as something is taking over the lymph nodes, spine, & now the lungs. Has 2 more repeat CT scans scheduled to see how much this stuff has spread in the past 6 wks & has scheduled a bone density test. With Mike's mobility problems am relieved to see them focusing on the spine; he says the neurologist will help us find out about the "short circuiting" of the nerves along the spine. Back to this oncologist Nov 19th but will be sooner if something shows up on the pet scan or any of the other tests. As if this isn't bad enough, Mike suffered a major gout attack last Wed; foot was horribly swollen & he was in excruciating pain. Never had gout before but dr is sure that is what it was & the meds he gave him worked right away. After all of this Mike still wanted to go to Branson; we finished at the hospital at 5:30 Fri afternoon & hit the road & made it half way before stopping for the night. Didn't do that much but it was so nice to get away. We were ALMOST able to pretend for a couple of days that he wasn't really sick. Had a long drive back yesterday but with the changing of the seasons it was a beautiful drive from Mo to IL. And so folks this is where things stand for now; soap opers to be continued at a later date.