..and the answer is…
Today I met with my oncologist to get the results of my CT scans (from Monday). I was scheduled to meet with the physician’s assistant and, as MaryBeth and I sat in the examining room, we agreed that if Dr. Kauh came in (instead of Edie, his assistant) it was a sign of bad news. I had noticed that we were ushered back into the examination room quicker than usual today (not that I’m one to read into such situations) and then when Dr. Kauh walked in; well, MB and I simultaneously sort of groaned and I said that it couldn’t be good news.
Dr. Kauh assured us it WAS good news. My bloodwork was generally good, though, certain aspects of my bloodwork were either higher or lower than the normal ranges, but nothing that caused Dr. Kauh concern. The results of both my chest and abdomen CT indicated that there were no detectable changes from my April scans, indicating that there was currently no evidence of metastatic cancer.
Quoting from Randy Pausch’s day to day blog: “Meaning that – for now – there’s no detectable sign of cancer in my body. I am still a looooong way from winning the battle, but every day I don’t lose is a day closer to achieving long-term victory.” (I don’t know why people say that I tend to display evidence of “hero worship” regarding Dr. Pausch…I mean, it’s not like I quote him all the time, right?)
This is good news. I now am free from hospitals again until the middle of August.
In other Hamburger news, though, as I write this, I am in Sarasota, FL with my father and step-mother. It turns out that his doctors now believe that his difficulty walking (and possibly his difficulty breathing) might be attributable to normal pressure hydrocephalus. Tomorrow, my Dad will be having a lumbar puncture to drain some cerebrospinal fluid to see if that relieves the pressure in his brain. It is our hope that by doing so, he will have less difficulty with mobility and that his breathing will improve. If the procedure is successful, the doctors will assess my Dad for having a neural shunt put in place which, while it won’t CURE the NPH (the shunt does not address the underlying causes for the NPH), will help with the symptoms.
As I have said in the past, please keep my Dad in your thoughts!
Merle
Oh Merle, such good news. I’ve been checking this site about every hour today and the more time that went by the more nervous I got. I was so sure that if the news was good you would post early. So sorry that the reason was that you had to head to Sarasota. Best wishes to all there.
I was getting nervous too! So glad to hear the good news! Hoping that the NPH will be the cause of some of your dad’s difficulties!