isaac-1

Well it looks like the adventure of the last 3 months is almost over with (started 3 months ago this week with regular doctor visit and elevated liver levels). The pathology report came back from the the lab today as cancer free, and if all goes well they will release me later in the day today, I will miss the pain pump though, in fact I think I am going to give it one more bump right now (ah). I am not sure when they are going to be in to pull it out, but it will probably be soon. I go back to the surgeons office on Tuesday for a followup, and probably get the staples out next Tuesday.

Ike

Tumor was benign lots of tubes and drugs now time for pain med surgery went smooth mostly

Just dropping a note to say the surgery is scheduled for Friday Aug, 19th

thanks for the suggestions, right now the surgery is tentatively scheduled for around the 18th when I finish up the antibiotics, they want to do it ASAP before another infection hits, it appears the stint that was placed during the ERCP 4 weeks ago may be blocking the gallbladder opening which was already limited by a gallstone in the neck of the gallbladder.

I just thought I would share the latest on my health roller coaster , as I last mentioned the spyglass ERCP biopsy came back negative, although they still think there is a good chance it is cancer, but will not know for sure until they get in and cut it out. (Whipple like operation, how much they have remove will be determined when they get in best case it will just be some of the duct, it may also include head of the pancreas or even part of the liver. I had some gallbladder flare up last week, and had a surgical consult and CAT scan Tuesday, which found I had a highly inflamed and possibly perforated gallbladder, so they instantly admitted me to the hospital and the next morning put a drain tube into my gallbladder, so now I am laying around in a hospital room with IV antibiotics, surgery scheduled for next Friday, with luck I will get to go home for 3-4 days before the surgery, depending on if they can convert me over to oral antibiotics.

Ike.

Thanks to everyone for your words of support, I am sure I will be asking a lot of targeted questions in the near future, we just made it home from Houston, saw no sense in sticking around there waiting on the biopsy results which we should have in the next couple of days. We talked with the gastroenterologist’s assistant today, once the biopsy results are in it sounds like they will be referring me to a surgeon that specializes in these types of cases and probably an oncologist, I am not sure why the delay since from the way they were talking this is the same basic plan regardless of the biopsy results. I am trying to keep a positive attitude, on one positive note I am glad I finally bought an Aflac cancer policy earlier this year. On a less upbeat ironic note it just occurred to me that in a strange way my family seems to be becoming more mainstream, my grandmother (on my father’s side) died of a rare cancer 1 in 3,000,0000+ slow growing blood cancer, my father just died in Feb. of a rare cancer that effects around 1 in 200,000 and now it looks like I likely have a 1 in 50,000 cancer. Of well sorry about the rant there but at least these little thoughts are half way distractions from the topic of the moment. Good luck to all of you out there in your ordeals and I will keep you posted on my progress if we can call it that.

Thanks for the replies, I live in west Louisiana, but am currently in Houston (the doctor did not want me to travel for 24 hours after the spyglass ERCP). I am still in the early stages of coming to terms with this potential condition (hopefully the biopsy results will be back soon), not real sure where I go from there regardless of news. I lost my father to a rare cancer with similar survival rates a few months ago, and watched his fight for 13 months from the time he was diagnosed until the end and can’t stop wondering if such a sharp decline is in store for me.