First of all: DON'T PANIC! But..
Some time ago, I think shortly after chemo, one of my CT scans found some tiny, unidentified nodules in my lungs. At the time, I saw a pulmonologist, Dr. Batin, and after chest x-rays and a pulmonary function test, he decided I was fine. They were so tiny that they couldn't be biopsied, and Dr. Batin told me that if it were HIS lungs, he wouldn't waste a minute worrying about it. So I didn't.
I just had a CT on Monday, and my Medical Oncologist (chemo) Dr. Mazj called me this morning to tell me that unfortunately the nodules have multiplied and grown.
There are enough of them, and they are large enough now to merit a biopsy in everyone's opinion.
The odds of them being cancer are small. That's the important thing
to remember. Small...but it's there. It's far more likely (according to Dr. Mazj) that they will be some sort of inflammatory disease or something else that I can't remember.
Tuesday morning, the 19th, I'll be going to Enloe hospital here in Chico at 8:15 for a CT-guided lung biopsy.
Apparently I will NOT be under general, I just found out, but will be awake, with sedation and local anesthetic, having a needle through my chest wall guided into the lung by CT and a needle aspiration biopsy to remove enough cells to put under a microscope.
The procedure will start at 10 and take maybe a half hour. I'll then spend about 1-2 hours in recovery and having a chest x-ray to make sure all is well before they let me leave. I'm then to be in bed-rest-recovery mode for a couple of days.
It's all rather sudden and I'm not even sure what I need to do to prepare!
And yes, I'm scared. :o(
But, I will get through it, just like I always do, and the support I get from all of you is a big part of that.
Thank you, and I love you all. Stay tuned for the updates!
2 comments:
it's almost better that they are large enough to do the biopsy and therefore you don't feel there is something "lurking" don't you think?
We'll have you in our thoughts.
hug, hug, hug from the Irwin clan down south!
I am always so impressed how you take all this every freakin time. Me? I'm hysterical and go into the shell, you, you blog and go under the knife...well, you have given me all your wisdom, which has helped SO MUCH you have no idea, your wisdom works like on TV when they give you a 'sneak peek' at next week's episode (can you tell I've spent a lot of time in front of the TV?!) ANYway, thank you for setting the example on how this all *should* be handled, although all of us are not as strong as you are!
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