The ENT doctor does surgeries only on Thursdays, and Mike could not get on his surgical schedule until November 12th for the biopsy. He did put Mike at the top of the waiting list, in case anything changes. In the meantime, we do more waiting. The good news is that Mike has no symptoms from the area in question that would cause us to worry.
Two weeks ago Mike did an invited talk at a conference in Myrtle Beach. About 400 people were there, the majority of whom have known Mike for many years. This was the first conference he attended since his cancer diagnosis, and the resulting changes in his appearance. Some of the first-time reactions to him were priceless, most in the outloud "OMG!" category. The other funny ones were from those who recognized Terry, but had no idea who the guy was sitting next to her--we call them the "Terry's new boyfriend" reactions. But the best one was from someone who had not seen Mike in 20 years, and said "You look great--haven't change a bit since the last time I saw you."
Mike has become what he used to be!
Please save up your good vibes for November 12. We'll post if that date changes, and when we have the results.
Mike and Terry
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
90% and Still Holding
We met with the ENT doctor yesterday. He reviewed the PET scan with us, and looked at the area in question with a scope. Nothing looked out of the norm. He could not feel that spot with his fingers because of the edema swelling that remains. He showed us the PET pictures with brand new, computer-enhanced imaging. The spot showed up bright and clear on those images, and is a little less than an inch in diameter. It has a Specific Uptake Value of 4.8, which puts it into the "can't tell either way" range.
The only way to get a definitive assessment is to do a core needle biopsy of that area and have the samples sent to the pathology lab. We requested to have the procedure done on TH of next week, but don't have a confirmation on that yet.
So, the waiting will go on for at least another week. As always, we'll post here when anything new happens.
mike and terry
The only way to get a definitive assessment is to do a core needle biopsy of that area and have the samples sent to the pathology lab. We requested to have the procedure done on TH of next week, but don't have a confirmation on that yet.
So, the waiting will go on for at least another week. As always, we'll post here when anything new happens.
mike and terry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)