Good morning. Id like to share my journey with you. It started with the headaches that I mentioned last week and brings me up to today. In August 2013, I started having recurring headaches, daily. I started losing weight, having post menopausal hot flashes, and was getting a little tired in the afternoons. I am very active and this was unusual for me. I took naps, sinus medications for the headaches and made sure I ate healthy. In April, during my annual checkup, I mentioned the symptoms to my doctor. She ordered blood work which indicated that I had the antibodies for Lyme disease. That explained the tiredness. I also had slightly elevated calcium levels. The doctor told me to stop taking vitamins for a month and retest. At the end of May Dr. Garrett referred me to an endocronoligist. The earliest appointment was for the end of July. Dr. Bruno ran some tests and sent me for a bone density test, in search of the calcium source. My bones were excellent so he ordered an Ultrasound with contrast of my thyroid glands. I had the test at the end of August. There was activity in my para thyroid gland so he started me on a diuretic so I wouldnt develop kidney stones. He also ordered a full chest x-ray because he found a spot in the top of my chest. The chest X-ray showed a spot about 1.5 centimeters in diameter, smaller than a dime. It also showed some suspicious activity in my spine. I thought the back aches were from too much yoga. Dr. Bruno then ordered a CT scan with contrast. I had the CT scan on October 30th. The next day, Dr. Bruno called to tell me the results. The scan revealed that I have moderate emphysema. No, Ive had no shortness of breath, trouble breathing, or coughing, my lungs sounded clear. Dr. Bruno was adamant about me seeing a lung specialist and he had already called one. The spot was in the upper right lobe of my lung and looked suspicious. There was also a fracture in the thoracic area of my spine. He told me not to do any more bendy twists and not to lift over 10 lbs. If the fracture became worse I could paralyze myself. On Sunday, November 2nd, I went away for a week to complete the course work to become a life coach. On the 11th, I saw Dr. Hindman who was to order a PET scan so he would have the right location to preform a biopsy. He dropped the ball and didnt call me back. He also didnt return my phone calls. The Monday before Thanksgiving, I went back to my GP. Dr. Garrett was shocked at the results of the CT scan. She thought there had been a mistake. She thought the report might be about another patient. She was also livid that Dr. Hindman had dropped the ball. She called another pulmonologist and I saw him on Tuesday. Dr. Mushlin set up the PET scan for the following week. On December 4th he told me that it was probably cancer and that it had metastasized. The lymph nodes around the spot were active as well as other places on the right side of my body. My SUV levels were not really high and that was good news. There was also a fracture in the L1 vertebrae. Dr Mushlin called the head of Thoracic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and I was scheduled for a consultation. The biopsy was preformed on Thursday, December 4th. After surgery Dr. Haas sent me to see Dr. Simone, the radiation oncologist. Dr. Simone will do the bone repair and help me end the pain that had begun to grow in my back since I stopped exercising. On Thursday, December 11th, Dr. Haas called to tell me that I have non small cell lung cancer, stage 4. We are waiting for the molecular analysis to determine a targeted treatment of chemotherapy. On Friday, I was tattooed for alignment for radiation treatment. Today, I get my first of 10 treatments. to kill the lung cancer cells in my spine and to fuse the bone so that I can begin to heal. I meet with my lung oncologist on December 23rd. I now have a Cancer team, complete with a pain specialist, social worker, nurse navigator, a guy who makes sure I have pre certifications and two oncologists for procedures. Thee good news is that many of the biopsied cells were already dead meaning that my body is fighting hard. I may have to have another biopsy in order to have enough cells to determine targeted treatment. That means another week or two before we can begin to fight the cancer cells. Thee worst news, I will not get to come to NC for Christmas this year. Its the third time in 29 years of living here that I dont get to see my family on Christmas. I will miss all of you Thank you for allowing me to share my journey. My purpose is to make people aware that lung cancer is a silent killer. I am the picture of good health, or so I thought. PLEASE pay attention to all those tiny little signals that your body sends. I love you all.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 11:22:51 +0000
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