The lung capacity test results are back and they are good. They met with the surgeon today and feel very good about him. The surgeon is wondering about the initial diagnosis, though; he thinks the prognosis is better than initially expected. He is reviewing the findings of the first doctor before proceeding.
The cancer is in the upper part of Al's left lung. The inflammation caused by the cancer spread to his larynx, which caused him to lose his voice. The first doctor thought the inflammation had spread from the left side of Al's larynx to the right side; this could mean the cancer spread from the left lung to the right lung. The surgeon does not think this is the case, but he wants to make sure.
The other bright spot is that the cancer is growing very slowly. They have at least two months to determine the best course of action. This gives us much more time to plan our trips and get the grandkids to Al.
The possibilities of Al's treatment are:
- the cancer has not spread, it is large-cell cancer, they remove one lung, he lives normally in remission.
- the cancer has not spread, it is small-cell cancer, they treat him with chemotherapy, he goes into remission.
- the cancer has spread, he gets chemo.
Dear Lee and Cathy,
ReplyDeleteMy Lord give your father all the blessings for survival of Cathy's father. I will add my little prayer although I don't know you and you don't know me.
I stumbled over your blog by putting alert for the "small cell cancer" key word. Through this journey I have found out many who suffer anguish and uncertainty. Therefore you must know you're are not alone on this way.
But, we are never alone :)
God bless,
Anna
Small Cell Cancer
Thank you. We appreciate that!
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