Lung surgeon visit

[Guest guest]

Hi all, I first want to thank you all again, i can feel your loving

and caring arms around me, I feel very at peace and calm as i read

your encouraging post to me. Laurie, visualization is a great idea,

im into dragonflies. Ok, I get a call 7am Thursday morning

(yesterday), its my primaries secretary calling from her home to

tell me they moved my appt. up and it was for Thursday afternoon,

and that she would fax all the info to his office just for me to be

there. I call Bob who already left for work, and told him about the

appt, he said no problem he'd be home by noon to come with me. Ive

been in slow motion and very pre-occupied, on Tuesday i dressed Matt

for school and put on a navy blue sock and a white sock on this

child. And didnt realize it till bathtime that night. His homework

has not been done for over a week now, and thank God his teacher is

very understanding. He of course missed the school bus Thursday

morning so i had to drive him to school, which was a blessing in

disguise, as i was able to talk to the school nurse, and Matts

teacher to let them know whats going on at home. After i left the

school i went to pick up a copy of my cat scan. Bob and I get to

the surgeons office, i was so nervous, but when i met him he was

very nice, we discussed past medical history again, mito and

previous breast cancer, he asked me when my last mammogram was and

click i remember that 2 years ago i had a mammogram and then an

ultra sound (specifically my right breast) at my previous family

practice. He wants copies of that mammogram and ultra sound, he

said if the cancer was there then, someone would have hell to pay. I

was impressed i thought all docs stood behind one another.. He told

us to come into his private office, he wanted to show us the cat

scan on his laptop, which he could move and was 3-d, bob and i were

shocked by what we saw, my right lung is completely closed. it

looks alot different in motion than just looking at cat scan film.

there is actually 4 masses, massed together. its huge if you put

your thumb of one hand to the thumb of your other and your middle

finger to your middle finger and make a circle it is that big in

circomference, it is also dense. the masses measures 6.6 x 5.4 adn

5.8cm and invades the mediastinum with effacement of the fat

planes. There is a mediastinal adenopathy with largest nodal mas in

pretracheal-retrocaval spcae measuring 4.3 x 3.0cm and other nodal

masses are present within the subcarianl aortico-pulmonic window and

prevacular spaces with obliteration of the majority of mediastinal

fat planes. Two soft tissue masses are seein in right lung

posterior to the right main stem bronchus measuring 1.7 x 1.2cm and

0.9 x 1.3cm and the larger of theses masses abuts the

posterior ;leural suface. There is a o.6cm in diameter mass in the

anterolateral aspect of right middle lobe. there is a large right

hilar soft tissue mass with lobulated contour encasing right

pulmonary artery, adn the right main stem bronchus, right upper lobe

bronchus and intermediate bronchus. Scary if ya know what this

stuff means. The report starts with impression: Bronchogenic

carcinoma with a large right hilar mass associated with mediastinal

adenopathy with infiltration of the mediastinal fat planes and

masses in the right lung suggesting metastatic disease or possibly

teh primary lesion. The surgeon said he would like to do a

biopsy, this would tell him what form of lung cancer it is and he

would know how long its been there. He explained that some masses

grow at explosive rates and others very slowly. He needs to do a

bleeding time test, where he will nic me and if i stop bleeding at 3

minutes he can do the biospy and if i dont clot within 3 minutes and

continue bleeding he will cancel the biospy. He will do this test

the morning of biopsy and he explained he will go down with a

telescope with an attachment to take a small piece of the mass.

Thakfully i will be knocked out for this. I might have some pink

bleeding that i would cough up after surgery, but if it is a red im

to get right back to the hospital. I said to the doc lets do it my

life is now in your hands, and then i asked him to put out his had

and i put a picture of in his hand, and i told him now you

have my little boys life in your hands, and i proceeded in detail

about Matts disability and more important what type of personality

he has, and when i was done doc said to me Barb i completley

understand where your coming from adn i will do everything i can to

help you. He also told me as we got ready to leave that its a

holiday weekend so if i needed anything or had any questions when i

got home to call him. He also stressed that he wants me to relax,

put all this cancer out of my mind and just enjoy my family this

holiday weekend. I thought that was very sweet of him. I hope i

can block it out and really have a blast this weekend with my

family. I will see the chemo oncologist on Tuesday next week i will

let yas know how that goes, and when i feel up to it after the

biopsy i will let yas know how that goes. God forbid something goes

wrong during biopsy, Bob or one of my older children will let yas

know whats going on!! Great big hugs to you all, Barb, and think

drangonflies!!!!