The good, The bad, and The ugly......

Mom had plenty of company today at her appointment with Dr. Morar at the Cancer Center in Bloomington. Pat, Peg, Clutch and Tim all rode along and sat through the hour long explanation of the results of last weeks tests.

These tests had a twofold purpose. First, to check all other vital organs for additional hot spots and to check the extent of cancer in the lungs. Second, to create a benchmark for future comparisons when new tests are performed. This will identify if treatments are working.

The good news is that no additional cancer was detected outside of the chest area. The bad news is that her cancer has encompassed a large percentage of her left lung and does include the lymph nodes in the area of the left lung along with her bronchial tube. Additionally, it is affecting the inner and outer lining of the lung. The ugly part is that they still are unsure as to what type of cancer it actually is. (Dr. Morar and her pathologist are communicating with the pathologist in Dallas who originally diagnosed it as spindle cell carcinoma, at this point they are only sure it is non-small cell because the sample they are working with was too small.)

Next Tuesday at 2 p.m. Dr. Morar will call with a final word as to what type it is for sure and therefore what type of chemotheropy. At any rate chemo will start in 2 weeks. Before that begins she wants Mom to have a few more things done. One is a brain scan, this is due to the dizzyness she experiences, also precautionary as historically that is where lung cancer travels. Second, she wants to remove some of the fluid built up in and around the lung. This should help her breath easier and can be done repeatedly as they can only remove approximately a liter at a time without causing too much stress. Third, they want to install a port in her upper chest that will be used not only for the chemo treatments but also for blood draws, etc. This will avoid using needles in her arms.

Further, Dr. Morar explained that soley using radiation as a treatment is not an option. She may use some pin point radiation if she believes it can shrink the tumor and provide some breathing relief. She expects to order new ct scans two months into treatment and compare results.

This is pretty much what I learned from lunch with all that attended. If I missed anything I'm sure they can add in the comments below. Take care and I'll let you know what we find out with next Tuesdays phone call. Jim