Today was a good day! It began at the oncologist office (Tennessee Oncology) at 7:45 a.m. I learned first of all that I weigh a little more than I should and that I am still as short as I’ve always been. Next we met oncologist, Dr. Mathew Joseph. Beth and I were both very impressed with his kindness, professional thoroughness and gentle manner. Today we are quite thrilled that he is my doctor for this journey.
The big news and good news from today (Friday, March 12) was that the PET and CT scans which took place yesterday (Thursday, March 11) were clear and showed no other “hot spots” for cancer in my body. Of course, we are rejoicing and praising the Lord for this good result. The scans did reveal some small spot within the left thyroid lobe which bears some follow up with ultrasound.
The worst news of the day was just a reconfirmation of the initial diagnosis. The tumor was a metastatic melanoma and that is our working diagnosis. Dr. Joseph performed an examination and he, too, found no primary site. This is unusual but not unheard of. Dr. Joseph explained our next options which I will note below.
We next visited my surgeon, Dr. Peter Smith. He removed my previous stitches, but did not perform the wide-area excision. He felt that it would be too extensive for an in-office procedure. Out-patient surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday morning, March 16, at 9:30 a.m. At that time, Dr. Smith will remove an area about one inch in diameter around the original incision and down to what little chest muscle I have. He will also look at some nearby lymph nodes and if they look suspicious, he will remove several of those. He will also do an ultrasound and a needle biopsy on the thyroid spot.
Dr. Joseph explained that the next options are “treatment” and “treatment.” His recommendation will depend largely on the pathology report from the wide-area excision on Tuesday. If that report indicates an apparently localized tumor, Dr. Joseph said he would most likely recommend what he called an “annoying” treatment. What I know about that so far is that it would involve about an hour of immunotherapy, five days a week, for at least four weeks. The best thing about this would be it would take place at his office about two blocks from where I live.
If the pathology report indicates more cancer in the surrounding tissue, then Dr. Joseph will recommend a treatment which he called high-dose, and a hard treatment. By “hard,” he meant difficult side effects and hospital stays. This treatment would probably take place at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We will know which direction we’ll be taking no later than Friday, March 26.
Beth will be here in Tennessee through late next week. We are thankful for some very good news, and also to have some clue as to what the next steps are. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us! It is a great encouragement. We are for thankful God’s grace that is so evident through this experience and all of our dear friends.
No matter what, God is good all the time!
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4 comments:
I'm rejoicing with you over this good news Chuck. My prayer is for the best possible treatment and outcome. Rest in His mercy friend....Ed
Thank you for your detailed comments--I feel much calmer about what you are facing, and it sounds like your surgeon and your oncologist are both wonderful, caring, and skilled physicians. How nice that they are close by for you. We will continue to hold you in our prayers, and for continued good news--we will pray for "annoying" rather than "hard"!
Love, Barbara and Lanny
Chuck. I just want you to know that you made a significant impact on my life at the pastor's retreat. I was overjoyed not by the talent that you and Mark Parker possess but rather the Spirit that we all shared during our worship times. It's that same Spirit that will see you through this time of healing. I can't wait to be able to spend time with you again. Just know that healing is on the way as we ,your friends, petition the Father for your speedy recovery. Much blessings to you and your family.
,Randy Scarborough
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