Between the snow and Presidents’ Day and laboratory sloth, the process had ground to a halt for mid-February. My original biopsy slides were in Texas and pathology MIA. I left phone messages that started calm and reasonable and ended with me shouting “This is unacceptable!” My insurance was pretty good, but they wouldn’t cover certain tests being done at Hopkins, so I was back at Union Memorial for another CT Scan and eventually a MRI. Each time, I got CD copies burned and dropped them off at Hopkins myself to avoid any bureaucratic logjams or SNAFUs.
The snow slowly receded and the process was back on track. We met with the radiation oncologist with our printed lists of questions and pens to take notes. Lisa and I were keen to get some hard facts and we got them. The cancer and tumor was staged: Stage I, T2, with no evidence lymph nodes being affected. Translated: pretty darned good, this had been picked up early.
Long-term game plan II (with more detail):
- Do a simulation for targeted radiation (pinpoint tattoos around the torso, a custom form to lay in, something called a “clamshell” to protect vital assets, etc).
- Find a cryogenic facility to deposit “my guys”.
- Radiation with chemo for 6 weeks.
- 6 weeks of recovery.
- Surgery to remove the tumor and any lymph nodes affected.
- Ileostomy and “bag” for 3 months.
- Reversal of ileostomy and recovery.
The radiation oncologist also mentioned the possibility of avoiding radiation altogether given the size, location, and lack of lymph involvement. He gave us the pros and cons, and it seemed to Lisa and I that radiation and chemo, despite the risks, was the best course of action to clean house. I was young and could handle it. Better to do it right, right now, then kick it down the road. This was March 4th, a month and day after I was shown the picture of the tumor.