jim-wilde

Lisa, I’m just not going to worry. I know I’m in good hands that are guided by God.

I’m thinking discharge 3/9 or 10, barring any problems, Kris. For the last surgery, they kept me over a weekend, BC they didn’t have a single room. I had MRSA in 2001 following cardiac surgery, and Columbia’s policy now is I can only have a single room and they can’t discharge a patient from the ICU!

It would be very nice to meet you … if we can’t work it in NYC, then maybe Phila with Kim and my wife. One way or another, we’ll make it work.

This has been a medically busy week. Tuesday AM PET/CT at NY Presbyterian, then noon appointment with Dr. Josh Sonett, the lung surgeon who did a tricky left lung procedure last spring. He talked with radiology, who didn’t see anything seriously illuminated on the PET/CT. This was a routine followup. Wed am appointment with Dr Abby Siegel, onc. The formal radiology report was now up and she’s a VERY careful reader. She saw something about a very small right lung mass that had grown from 4mm in 10/2011 to 9mm now. She got Dr,. Sonett on the phone right away to discuss this new finding. Bottom line, get another scan, a CT done stat the same day. I went back to Dr. Sonett’s office to see whether we should go back to MD or stay in NJ. He very quickly decided that it was to be surgery for me (March 7) and I completed almost all the pre-admission testing yesterday. All I can say for this huge hospital (29,000 employees, 6000 of them doctors) is they can really cut through the bureaucratic BS when there’s a need, and knowing where I live, they do handstands to avoid me making any unnecessary trips there. I love the care they’ve given me and they never cease to amaze me with their responsiveness. A truly wonderful hospital.

We’re still pursuing the elevated CA 19-9 and bili numbers, and a new blood test was ordered. Apparently, inflammation in the pancreas without cancer can also cause elevated numbers and slight pain/discomfort in the right kidney region. The scans both show no evidence of cc returning at this point, which is always great news.

My hope is this is an adeno carcinoma, unrelated to cc, and a new primary, but only a final path report in March will tell what the deal is. CC is not all bad. Had it not been for cc, the lung tumor removed from the left lung last year and this new one in the right lung would not have been discovered until much later, since there were zero symptoms with either, and wouldn’t have been until I was in dire straights. Perverse as it may seem, this all still belongs in the “Good News” section. At least, that’s how I’m reading it.