First of all, the tests on K's tumor came back. With a possible score of 0 (best) to 10 (worst), she scored a 0.8.* This means that, if the surgeon gets every last bit of tumor, her chances of recurrence are very low, radiation would not improve those chances so isn't worth doing, and she does not need a mastectomy. But, again, that is if they get the last morsel of tumor.
So today (now yesterday), I drove K down Route 95 to the hospital affiliated with Wicked Famous Cancer Hospital, and, while I went to the cafeteria and got a grilled cheese sandwich, she got the inside of her breast scraped again. She was out of the OR by the time I could get her a cup of coffee from the Starbuck's cart in the lobby. The surgeon thought it went well.
So, for the third time, we wait for pathology. That will probably come back in about 10 days. K is quite well. I am sitting in the town library while she hunts Pokemon with some friends. (Yes, we are geeks.)
Now, it ain't over until the pathologist sings. For that 0.8 score to mean anything, the surgeon must get every itty bitty piece of tumor. Otherwise, more surgery. So, keep your fingers crossed.
* * *
The Professor** abides. He stayed up all night at a party at a friend's house on New Year's Eve and had a fine old time.
* * *
Katie the Cat, despite my prediction, likes her kidney-friendly food better than her old food. She still loudly demands her evening walks and herds us to bed every night.
* * *
As for me, things are better. I finally finished my 6 week course of IV penicillin and got rid of Alvin. I never got to use that Darth Vader joke (see 2 entries ago), but I am not sad to see Alvin go. He would never shut up, going "bzzt, bzzt, bzzt," all day and night. It's nice to lose that giant IV line that went from my right upper arm almost all the way to my heart. And, since I was not allowed to lift more that 10 pounds with my right arm, my upper body went all wimpy over the 6 weeks. Ew!
The other bit of good news is that, while my symptoms did not improve over the whole 6 week course of penicillin, when I switched to oral amoxicillin, oddly, I suddenly felt much better. My nose stopped bleeding for the first time in a year.*** Hygeia (my ENT doc) looked up my nose this week, and the uncovered bone between my throat and my braincase looks about as good as an uncovered bone between a throat and a braincase can look.
And I have a date for my colonoscopy.
That's the way it is. Next entry (barring unforeseen disasters) will be about K's pathology report.
* This is one event where you do not want to get a 10. Good thing there were no East German judges.
** Previously known as B, originally known as Little Lord Chaos. I am giving him this new pseudonym because he is literally (and I am not kidding) an expert on multiple topics and gives excellent (once again, not sarcastic; just proud daddy) lectures on them.
*** That's kind of a lie. I still get nosebleeds more than anyone you know and always will, but I don't worry about bleeding out on a patient anymore.
This gray seal wishes you a Happy New Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment