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!

Surgery Update II

I'm now six days out from surgery. I think I'm making good healing progress! I've graduated from a walker to a cane. Today I've noticed that I am not relying on the cane as much as before. In the next day or two, I'll be able to remove the special dressing with the integrated pump device (an "incision management system") and see for myself what the incision looks like. The drain tube will stay in until my follow up appointment on July 20. It's been a little tricky to manage, but I won't go into details so I don't gross anyone out.

I'm still figuring out what my right leg can and can't do. It's hard to move it in certain ways, and it is weak in other ways. Time will tell how it will strengthen and come back from all of this. When I walk without the cane, I can take several steps without much of a limp, but after a few steps there is a noticeable hitch to my step. Again, time will tell...

At my follow up appointments on the 20th I'll find out if I will need any further treatment, or if I am done and instead will be monitored for recurrence.

Surgery Update

Surgery finally happened yesterday, July 7. I'm now home from the hospital after spending one night there.

The surgery was successful. They were able to remove the tumor. I'll know more about negative margins after the pathology report comes back, but they think they got "clean" margins everywhere except one place (which was anticipated -- right against the pelvic bone). The tumor was pushing on my sciatic nerve, but had not encased it, which was good. That should take care of the sciatic nerve pain I've experienced for several years. However, the tumor was very involved with the gluteus medius muscle, so that muscle is mostly gone now. That means I may have a limp and likely won't be able to return to running (although there is a chance I might be able to). That's disappointing, but I knew it was a possibility and it is worth it if it keeps the cancer from spreading and progressing.

I have about a 14 inch incision on the outside of my upper right thigh, hip, and backside. There's a drain tube and another device integrated with the bandage that helps the incision heal. I will have to carry around a little pump device with me for the next 7 days. The drain tube comes out after two weeks.

I'm up and walking (carefully) and using a walker right now. My pain level has been moderate, so I haven't yet resorted to any narcotics and hope not to.

The hardest part for me will be taking it easy! I'm used to being on the go and staying active. Now I'm forced to go slow until all of this heals up.

Fortunately, I've taken the next two weeks off from work, and summer is a slower time of year anyway, so I do have the time and space in my schedule to focus on healing up from the surgery.