Hello folks,
Thanks for all your careing and kind words.
All the advice, well taken also, thanks!!
I had a copy printed of the Doctor's notes and reports.
I also had copies made of the biopsy report and well, pretty much everything from Sept 19th until last Thursday.
I've been reading these papersover the weekend and it's amazing to me that although I speak english, these papers are much like reading a foreign lanuage. And it's a comfort to me that I can prove I'm not the only one that doesn't spell good. What's even funnier to me is that the Doc's don't take the time to do spell check either. lol
After looking up words for the meaning, I find I can't even sound out many of the words. But they are very precise, and finely point to what is going on. As I stated earlier, my chest is quite a mess, the thymus cancer (Thymoma: man, that sounds to me like some kind of Island dance the locals talk you into danceing after they sauce you up a bit), It has metastasized by tisue to tisue so far, to my right lung, my inner cheast liner, my diaphram, a level #9 (what ever that is, reminds me of the White Album song number 9, confusion sums that up pretty good I guess, lol), my heart and it's veins and vessels seem to have the most tissue to tissue aggression tossed it it for now. It seems there are 2 sacks that hold the heart in place, both of those sack perimeters have been compromised. So one of our hopes is that the second way this type of cancer spreads (through the blood) hasn't happened yet. That info will be gathered with the PET scan on the 19th. Time is flying, it's only been 3 weeks and 2 days since my call to the Hospital asking about chest pain. One week from tomorrow will be the Pet scan. One other way this cancer spreads is through the lymph system, the thymus is like grand centrol in the chest for the lymph system. We are also hopeing that that system has not metastasized past my chest cavity, and the PET scan I'll have will gather that info as it is of my whole body.
Tomorrow, I plan to find a way to recieve treatments more locally, since they will likely be 5 days a week on an out-patient basis, the travel seems would be would be worse than the treatment. From here it's 2 and hours to Boston and about 4 hours to Albany, NY on some of the worst roads during winter conditions, but I hope to find out that info at my Oncology appointment on the 30th, (Trick or Treat, treat I hope) maybe I'll wear a costume, all my leathers and foul weather face mask. lol
Although the Tumor Board meeting wrote me off for surgery, one of those Doc's has made an appointment for me 11/03 at the Boston VA hospital with a tumor Board there, so I will have a second oppinion at least. I'm hoping, because the boston VA hospital has more experience with this type of cancer, maybe they will be more apt to give a more aggressive approach and possibly surgery before the radiation or chemo treatment starts. Now that would be OK with me.
Anyway, thanks again for careing, and I will keep you infored as I gather more info.
For now,
ride it while you can
Sam aka chappy