No news is.....frustrating news!

We embarked on the all important meeting with Dr. #4 today. This has been a meeting that has kept both of us feeling like Bear Grylls and crew before swimming naked across an Alaskan glacier. However, unlike the Discovery Channel star, we didn't find the search and rescue chopper that conveniently finds its way into the closing scenes at the end of each show. Something else we're not good at...suspense!



Today's appointment went something like this......the Doc and nurses from last week (Doctor #5, et al - the same Doc who put a whole in B's right lung and cost us a night of bowling) were unable to get a good tissue sample from the biopsy...say WHAT?? How much is enough tissue? What were they doing in there the entire time his chest was turning yellow and he was rambling to you in Swahili because of the bags of anesthesia he was slugging? Oh well, moving on.

OK, so not enough tissue....now what? Well, at this point we're finding out more about what we don't know than what we do know. The Dr. said that B's HTC (not the same cells as the Hero or Touch Pro2) levels were a bit high. Say again? In laymen terms that could mean a couple different types of cancer, for which, B will go through at least two more tests and get another opinion. Dr. #4 also said that his CA-19 levels....I know, I know, when did a Bingo game break out, right?! (I know, I know, there's no C in Bingo - pretend there is for blog's sake)....what-the-bageezus are you talking about?? This is something that can be present in a couple types of cancer, too, but can also not mean much at all. The next step is to do everything we can to rule everything else out so that we know for sure it is lung cancer. The next tests are a testicular scan, a colonoscopy, a trip to U of M for a second opinion/looksy over, and then surgery to remove the tumor in the lung and run some more tests on it. Bad news...B is going to have to stay a day or two in the hospital when they take the lesion out of the lung. Good news....it'll all be out of the lung!!

The Dr. wants to be sure that he is giving B the best chance to beat this, and to do so they need to be sure that the lung tumor is the source. With chemotherapy being so specific it's best to know what area they're treating. So...no new news. Just new tests! We do know for sure that chemo is in the foreseeable future. So everyone should be sure to enjoy B's hair, those beautiful golden Jewish locks, as much as possible...and maybe he'll break out the mohawk, this time objection-free, before he loses it for a short time. And this won't be from me driving him crazy!



So, bottom line is more tests and more waiting...great! Something to feel good about that we learned today is that Doctor #4 said he thinks the hip tumor will completely heal and B should get full and normal usage of his right kicker back soon. Hey B, the shovel's out there waitin' for ya...with about 3 feet of snow ;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!


TODAY'S SHOUT-OUTS --> Florida Aunts/Families....thank you so much!

How we got where we are today...

This all started with what was supposed to be a regular basketball injury. I don't think it's karma, just a fluke, that I am only 28 but got hurt playing in an over-30 league. I guess when you hit 30, you play hoops more with your backside than anything else. That's how the pain began.

I got bumped by someone's gigantic fanny in my right hip, but this wasn't your typical bump. This hurt so bad that I could feel it in my groin (which later, Doctor #1 would tell me, actually is my real hip). I'm a tough kid, so I played through the pain for another 3 weeks, only feeling a little bit of a twinge when running at anything more than 50% speed.

Christmas time came and the league ended for 3 weeks. Being a natural athlete who knows his body, I figured that would be the perfect amount of rest for my aching hip. After New Year's, I made it back to the gym and on the 1st play back, literally play numero uno, I got bumped again and felt an even worse pain through my upper leg.

Being the caring and compassionate person L is, she finally sassed me enough to come into her office and meet with one of the doctor's in her group, the aforementioned Doctor #1. He did some x-rays, which came up pretty hilarious since all I could focus my attention on was my nice belt buckle and bizarre "snaps" in my rear pockets (anyone who's ever had an x-ray with clothes on knows what I mean).

Long-story short, Doctor #1 referred me to Doctor #2 because of a curious "bump" between my pelvis and femur (ball and socket). Doctor #2 introduced me to the wonderful world of "Biopsy". Say it with me kids, "Bi-O-Psy". Very good. These are not fun and almost always ensure a longer day than the time you wet your pants in 3rd grade music class before the 1st bell even rang. What? That never happened to any of you? Nevermind then!



To make another long-story short, the results came back that I had cancer. All they could tell me was that it was a tumor in my leg, that came from another tumor. But where was this other tumor? Good question...hopefully I know the answer Thursday. More on that in a minute...when we get to Doctor #4.

Doctor #3 is the guy who is going to get rid of my leg tumor. Apparently, they can kill one of them without knowing where the main source is. So, radiation was ordered, and as of today, I am two fifteenths of the way done with that. I go in every weekday for the next 15 weekdays to kill this thing, and hopefully get full use of my leg back.



Right now I can hardly make it to the bathroom without falling on my face. I walk with more of a limp then the oldest of oldies in the over 30 league! If I didn't know I had cancer, I'd make fun of myself, too. Don't feel bad....the cashier at Meijer pried into my limp and even told me about how he suffered a similar "embarrassing" injury when he once ran over his own foot. Yeah, I've heard a lot of been-there-done-that's in the last couple months.

Anyways, on to Doctor #4. See, nobody can tell me where the tumor originated from. They did find a mass in my right lung, but all the doctors seem to be convinced that's not the starting point for one medical reason or another. So, I had another longest-day-in-history this past Wednesday, when I went in at 6:30am for a lung biopsy (performed by Doctor #5). One collapsed lung, one chest tube, a 29 hour hospital stint, a missed weekly bowling league (sorry Pinners) 2 nurse's (one on her 2nd shift), more meds than Canada dispenses to American's daily and the worst case of constipation imaginable, we are a week away from finding out what the lung biopsy has to reveal. The wish is that this shows us where this disgusting disease began, how we need to take care of it, and then taking care of it.

I know it's going to be a tough road, and after watching "Funny People" tonight, I know there will be much vomit, more pain and even more meds for me to trick myself into believing will ultimately help me. But with the support of all of you, and L, and the love everyone I haven't spoken to in years has passed on, we are all certain I will beat this. Right now, the short-term goal is to get myself back to the basketball court. After that, we'll see. But no matter what, if there's one thing that I can get out of this, it's that all those close to me rid themselves of the biggest cancer causing habit out there. Please do yourself a favor and QUIT SMOKING! If I had to get this disease for you to quit, then it was worth it. And don't do it for anyone but yourself. The pain, the nausea, the horrible side-effects aren't worth going through just for a 7-minute timeout. Please, just think twice before lighting up again.

Thanks for coming by, and L and I are planning on adding posts as often as possible. Post questions, leave comments or just read and move on. Either way, spread the word and encourage other survivor's to share their story. I want to know what to look forward to (or what not to), and I'm sure everyone has a story from someone close they can share.

Love,
B

P.S. X, I know the name isn't so original, but your blog is a hit, and I'm not very creative so the first initial thing just stuck. Sorry!

P.P.S. I thought L was going to start the first blog in our fam after watching "Julie & Julia" last week. Guess I was wrong.