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!