honeypig

Sasha, I have not laughed so hard in quite some time! "Give her more fentanyl, please just shut her UP!"

Ha ha HAAAAA...!

Wisconsin

Fingers crossed for good PET scan results today, Lexie!

LexieCat

Sasha, that is a freakin' RIOT. It reminds me of the first time I had major gum surgery--I had nitrous oxide and had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the procedure. The doc let me go but recommended I avoid looking in the mirror. So, of course, being high as a kite I had to look, and my mouth looked like a bloody mess of exposed tissue/bone. But I found it FASCINATING.

So, good news peeps--the PET scan was clear, except for the one suspicious nodule (which is now a bit more suspicious, due to its lighting up). No indication visible on the scan of any spread anywhere else. My doctor said that was VERY encouraging.

The will remove the section first, and if no cancer, that's it. If it IS cancer, they will remove lymph nodes and the entire lobe. I asked again why they have to remove the entire lobe, and the doc patiently explained that as long as I can tolerate the procedure (and given my good lung function, I can), removing the lobe is the BEST guarantee of no future spread. The reason apparently is that removing the lobe cuts off any avenues by which stray cancer cells can escape into the body. He said the lobe removal is still the "gold standard" where it can be done.

So we are definitely on for 7/10, and I feel a great sense of relief. Just wanna get this over and done with and get on with my life.

Ariesagain

Glad to hear from you and that it's good news!

Get that little goober out of there, yes? The peace of mind is more than worth it, I would think. Some things "wait and see" just means "wait and obsess about it," at least if you're an inherently gloomy individual like myself.

Keep up the good work!

Lilro

LEXIE!!!!!!!!!!

I have been unable to post, unsure why. Thought they kicked me outta here!

I am so very happy to read your follow up today. Been thinking about you all week! Keep your chin up Lex. It's all going to be O.K.! Before you know it you'll be back in the Mosh Pit. Lol

Big hug ((((()))))

Ro

LexieCat

Ro, I wouldn't let anybody kick you out. You're another one of us fixtures around here--we just need to get dusted once in a while.

PuzzledHeart

Just get that stupid sucker out of there and call it a day. No spread is very, very, VERY good.

Impurrfect

Lots of hugs and prayers for you Lexie. Your doctor sounds top notch, glad someone got the memo to give you VIP care!

least

Big hugs to you Lexie, and prayers for a quick recovery.

greeteachday

Great news on the PET scan results! Enjoy the long weekend and hopefully there will be an opening later in the week and you can get the show on the road and back to healing.

LexieCat

Nah, looks like opening later in the week isn't happening. Doc will not be available. He seemed totally fine with doing it a week from Monday, and I'm fine with it too--it will give me a chance to wrap up a few things at home and at work before I'm out of commission for a week or two.

My bosses are telling me to take whatever time I need. What's nice is that, working from home, I can work for a bit and then take a break--or even the rest of the day off. I have plenty of sick time, so I'm in good shape that way.

Ann

Lexie, just catching up here (and drying my eyes from the laughing...you guys really are funny) and I just wanted to say how happy I am that it looks like they got this covered.

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and I will bake you a "welcome home" cheesecake with some of my best mocha/java icing.

LexieCat

Mmmm... yummy!

I sent PH a link to my surgeon's web page and told her to check out his profile, under "languages spoken." English, Spanish, and RUSSIAN.

Coincidence? I think NOT.

firebolt

Fantastic news! I can picture you...in surgery....and some glorious Vogs poking out the bottom of the sheet...ready to happy dance once you wake up

LexieCat

I sent my ex (kiddos' dad, who I am trusting with the power to "pull the plug") a list of people to email as soon as I come out of surgery--and hp and Anvil are on the list. So you guys will probably know how I'm doing before I do, lol.

And today I received the ACTUAL PET scan report. They gave me a CD of the scan when I left, which allowed me to take a fascinating journey from the base of my brain to mid-thighs, in cross-section, but I wanted to see the actual interpretation of what was on there. When I looked at the scan, I could clearly see the glowing spot on my lung--very small--and nothing else glowing till you get down to my guts and urinary tract--glowing there is considered normal because there's a lot of glucose taken in by those parts of the body. So it was reassuring to see, in actual words, that there was one lung nodule "suspicious" for malignancy, but NO SIGN OF METASTASIS. The reason cancer glows is that there's the barium (radioactive--there was a sign in the restroom warning me to pee carefully as my urine is radioactive for the next 24 hours) combined with glucose they give you. Cancer cells are "hyper" and take in glucose at a much higher rate than normal cells. Really interesting stuff--especially when the news is reassuring.

I also found a lung cancer support forum, which isn't that active/lively (at least not compared to SR) but with a lot of good info and a few dedicated souls who make it their business to greet everyone and give them good info. One woman who recently had a lobectomy advised me to get a wedge pillow to make it more comfortable to sleep when I come home. So already ordered from Amazon--it arrives tomorrow. That's the kind of advice I can really use.

Also, there's a guy a couple of towns over from me who was just diagnosed. I told him if he wanted to meet up for coffee or a chat to let me know. It's always great to have people going through similar adventures, though this guy sounds like he's gonna have a substantially more involved road than I will (assuming things are as they currently appear). I'm hoping I can stay simply grateful for early detection and treatment, and not get pangs of survivor's guilt. But I'm getting ahead of myself. And I WILL have to keep an eye on this situation indefinitely, because cancer--especially lung cancer--is tricky and somewhat unpredictable. I have no idea whether any of those other nodules will act up at some point.

Just taking this opportunity, too, to make a public service announcement. It isn't "Don't smoke"--everybody knows that. The message is, if you DO smoke, or smoked for a substantial period of time, ask about getting the screening. The protocol for screening is to have 30 pack-years (which would be 1 pack a day for 30 years or 2 packs a day for 15 years), be between ages of 55 and 80, and either be currently smoking or quit less than 15 years ago, and healthy enough to tolerate treatment. My insurance company covered it. It involves a low-dose CT scan once a year. There are pros and cons to screening--google it if you are interested--but the screening can potentially save your life, because most lung cancers are very advanced by the time you have symptoms. I have NO symptoms--feel physically great.

AnvilheadII

thank you for that update Lex....and the statement about screening.

early detection saves lives. saves life years. saves quality of life.

Maudcat

Sounds positive, Lexie.
Hang in there.
I wouldn't say no to a little fentenyl.

least

honeypig

I'm glad you found a place to get practical advice about things like the wedge pillow. When my younger sister had breast cancer, it was often the simple practical things that were most helpful in getting through the day.

Counting down now, not long until the day!

LexieCat

Sheesh, what a day. I was reviewing my pre-op paperwork today, and was dismayed to see the surgical date as being 7/13--I could have SWORN the surgeon had told me 7/10. After futile calls to the hospital's surgical unit and to the "nurse navigator" (who apparently doesn't check her messages), I called the surgeon's personal cell (which he had given me and insisted that I call "any time"). He immediately reassured that I don’t have a brain tumor that’s making me hallucinate. It IS the 10th (Monday)--he had had them put it down for the 13th because he originally thought he had a long procedure scheduled for the 10th and he didn’t want to start operating at 5 pm. But that has been rescheduled, so it IS the 10th, which is what he HAD told me.

It's really not a huge deal either way, but I'm kinda like a little kid about this stuff--if you think something is happening a certain day it's a bit stressful to find out it isn't what you thought.

I guess I'm a bit hypersensitive to details right now--which is how you really have to be with something like this, but I'm rolling along just fine and hitting the unexpected is just, well, disconcerting.

All's well now, though.