Winding roads...

 

And so the road winds...

It has been a busy week thus far with diagnostics.  We have learned some information and have got some more steps planned out. 

1. My brain MRI came back negative!!! NO cancer found!  This is a huge relief!

2. My nasal scope also came back negative!!! No cancer found in my nasal cavity, throat, or voice box. This also is great news and a huge relief!

Today I met with a surgical oncology ENT specialist. She is who actually did the nasal scope. She recommends that the next step be to remove the lymph node. Her logic makes a lot of sense. She basically said that the tissue sample that we got when I had the needle biopsy was too small to run a lot of testing on. The pathologist could only determine that it was in fact cancerous but couldn't do any typing or tell the point of origin for the sample. If we remove the entire node (which is only 1cm x 1cm) we will have a lot more cells to work with and they can hopefully determine where it is coming and get some more detailed genetic specifics about it beyond that too. Most lymph node cancers (if not lymphoma) don't actually start in the lymph node, the node just picks up the cells as it does its job to help clean the body.

She did say and this had never really occurred to me. It is an assumption right now that this node is a spread of the esophagus cancer that I previously had. No testing has actually had enough sample to definitively say this. She said it isn't impossible that it is but it is an odd place for it to pop back up. She said that it also could be a completely unrelated and coincidental new primary cancer. The additional pathology on the entire node will be able to give us more clarity. Knowing where it came from can also direct future plans for chemo or immunotherapy etc. as different types of cancer respond better to different types of treatment. 

So, I will be having a day surgery to remove the node on September 5th. It takes about a week for pathology results to come back. 

She also is going to bring my case to the hospital's tumor board. This is a team of oncology professionals from all the different specialties who will review my case (labs, pathology, scans, history etc) and weigh in to help direct the next best course of action. She also suggested I reach out to my surgeon in Charleston at MUSC to ask them about bringing my case to their tumor board as well. 

On Friday this week I will go to a consult with radiation for his input. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out, prayed, and truly just cared enough to follow along. It does make a difference knowing that I am not alone in this all. 

More to come as I know more. For now... I'm just continuing to put one foot in front of the other.