Surgery Update III, What's Next

I had appointments with my oncologist and surgeon on Wednesday afternoon.

The good news is that my doctors are not recommending any further treatment at this time. My next scheduled appointments are in November, which will include another MRI and CT scan.

The pathology report came back and, as expected, the surgeon could not get negative margins in three places...but that was expected and the reason for the radiation treatment prior to surgery. There is always a chance of recurrence (somewhere in the 20-50% range) but she is cautiously optimistic that all the treatment I've done will (hopefully) mean that the tumor will not come back.

I had the drain tube removed on Wednesday, and that will slowly heal up over the next few days. The surgeon says my incision looks great. If I get through the next two weeks without developing an infection, then I should be in good shape. I have physical therapy appointments set up for August.

I still have the port in my chest. I'll go in every 8-12 weeks to get it flushed. But at some point it'll come out, too. Probably not until the end of the year or early next year.

The surgical site in my hip and gluteal area has been a bit more swollen, tender, and tight since the drain tube was removed. I'm hoping that will resolve over the next week or so. I continue to walk without a cane, but do have a slight limp. I took a "real" shower for the first time today since the surgery. That felt great!

Over the last nine months, the cancer was poisoned with chemotherapy, zapped with radiation, and then the tumor was cut out of my body. Here's hoping that's it!

Finally, Allison and I have a week on Maui booked for mid-November. It's been so hard to schedule any vacation time due to all the treatments, etc. We're really looking forward to getting away!

I'm not sure when I will post to this blog again. With the most intense days of treatment coming to an end (hopefully forever) I may not have much to share.

But if I do, I'll be sure to post it here.

THANK YOU to all of you who sent caring cards, left encouraging comments, sent supportive text messages, and showed me so much love over the last 9 months. One of the gifts of this unwanted diagnosis has been to experience God's grace through all of YOU. Thank you!