Second MDA Appt Update

Well there is some good news today!!!

I went back to MDA this morning for a CT of the head/neck and an ultrasound of the neck. They did NOT see any tumors of concern (there was one that measured .81cm but it did NOT look suspicious)!!!!!

What this means is that the cancer cells are just basically just sitting there (I like to picture them lounging by the poolside sipping cocktails and leaving me alone) and they have not created any problems right now! This is GOOD news!

NEXT:

Mon 11:45am - appointment with head/neck surgeon (don't know if this is for glands or clip)

Wed 1:15pm - meet with my "home" team and discuss plan

I feel really good about all of this, I am just really tired but who wouldn't me right now! :-)

~ GO MOMO ~

MD Anderson Appointment Update!

(My latest pic - AFFLICTION)

MADGE IS STALKING ME!!!

(thanks for that one Gingee)

Well today was a BIG day! As you know my Internal Medicine doctor had some concerns that needed to be addressed so instead of sending me back to the same doctors I saw before she sent me to the BIG GUNS at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Today was my first appointment.

From the moment I walked in the doors I knew I was in for quite the experience. It is SO BIG and so I headed straight for the information desk so we wouldn't waste any time. They told me to follow the blue stripes on the carpet until the very end ...... we walked, and walked, and walked. We finally made it to ELEVATOR A!!

The doctor I was supposed to see (the chief of endocrinology) had called in sick but MD Anderson had already called me this morning and told me they rearranged my entire schedule and I would be seeing his associate instead, a Dr. Mimi Hu. I was perfectly fine with that.

I checked in and they handed me a two page itinerary!!! I thought I was just there for my initial consultation! Here is what I saw:


TODAY:

9:00am Registration
10:00am New Patient Appointment
11:30am Blood Work
1:15pm Chest X-ray

TOMORROW:

6:30am Check In
7:00am CT Head/Neck
10:00am Ultrasound Head/Neck
BIOPSY TO FOLLOW IF ULTRASOUND SHOWS 1CM NODULES.

So, I am actually up too late so I am going to make this somewhat short (I promise to give you a good update tomorrow after the tests).

I saw the doctor after talking to a few people, the customer service was GREAT!!! This is what the doctor said (condensed version):

"Well I see that your thyroidgobulun (sp?) is still higher than it should be so you still have the cancer I see" She went on about other things but as you know I was a little thrown by that so I asked her to explain since I was told I was cancer free on 2/2/09 and she was looking at blood tests from 1/26/09!!!!!!

She said that the number is still low (15) and it shows that it hasn't spread to the lungs or "angry" right now but my number should be .4 (that is a POINT FOUR) and so I do have some cancer that is either slow growing or will get "angry" soon as soon as it gets hungry for some glucose. AH YES I HAVE CUT OUT SUGAR NOW!!!!!!!!!!! No more daily Snickers - OH MAN!!!!! Oh but the GREAT news is I don't have to be on a low iodine diet unless I am doing radiation or an uptake scan - YAY!!!! SHRIMP FOR ME!!!! This by far was probably the only thing I REALLY heard today! HAHA

So, after talking about the METAL CLIP and SALIVA GLAND issues I am also seeing 2 other surgeons this week before I see her next Wednesday.

The CT and ultrasound tomorrow will show if there are any BIG nodules they need to biopsy. The strange thing is she did feel the new one on the left side of my neck that I have told you about but she felt a NEWER one that she stated she thinks measures 1CM!! This is a concern of course because if she is right that means I will get a biopsy tomorrow (sorry but having needles stuck into my neck and pulling tissue out is not pleasant).

She also stated that if they go in for the metal clip they will NOT cherry pick the nodules and they will CLEAN OUT MY WHOLE NECK! They don't mess around!!!


So, right now all we know is that I STILL have cancer, it never went away actually. PSYCH - we just THOUGHT we had a nice 3 month break! Goodness! That was really nice though to NOT have any doctors appointments and try to get my life back. I am so prepared for this next round of what ever we have to do! I know God gave me that break so I wouldn't break and give me back some sanity.

I honestly am not upset, I just have had the hardest time feeling "cancer free" and now I know why! I have also said I wasn't ready for God to stop using me and now HE isn't! :-) I just had this "feeling" and I couldn't shake it. Now I feel like it is going to be done RIGHT and when they say it is OVER I know it will be TRUE and I feel that is when my peace will come.

I must say going somewhere where every 3rd person you see is obviously sick and has no hair and/or a face mask on really puts life into perspective!! I almost lost it when sitting in a HUGE cafeteria almost every table had someone ill. There was a peace though, like every sick person's heart was with the others. It took a lot for me not to cry - I just looked at my food most of the time and Gene kept me laughing (of course)!! :-)

We all lost our dear friends and family, Gene Funnel and Gary Davis this past week due to cancer. Just 4 days apart. They were my inspirations all through out my fight and they kept me going. I had been feeling so guilty for "surviving" and having it so easy. In a way this makes me feel a little better. I cannot explain this. I did have this new drive to get healthy and fight really hard so it is good for me. I will go into detail at a later time!


I must get to bed so I can get up at 5:00am!

I feel like MADGE did leave but she left her suitcase behind.... I am NOT going to let her IN the house... I am just going to THROW her suitcase on the LAWN!!!!!!!!


Just a few more steps and I have FULL confidence in MD ANDERSON!!!

Well heck... I guess I have to say GO MOMO again! :-)