Believe
it or not, a “new subcarinal lymphadenopathy” is far more important to me than
who won a Presidential election.
Yeah, my
thoractic surgeon immediately following my recent CT scan saw no tumors or suspicious areas and left me with the impression
that it was “ definitely not bad news but …” because of inflammation from chest cold we
should do another scan in 8 weeks.
Yet
picking up the radiologist’s report a week later I can’t even remember how long
I sat starring dumbfounded at the results and impressions from the report in
the parking lot. Even though my cough was improved, the world around me seemed
to fall away.
After pushing
my wife’s wheelchair for a couple miles on Sunday over varying terrain both in
surface and incline through dry marsh and woodlands, I was experiencing significant sinus
congestion and a dry cough. Patti whose Multiple Sclerosis dementia-like
symptoms prevent her from ever remembering I even have lung cancer, turns to me
and remarks, “you sound terrible, you’re not dying or something are you?”
She
meant nothing by the remark. She lives in the now, that’s simply what I sounded
like to her, and soon her attention turned to she was hungry.
Yet for
me the remark, especially at sunset, cued the poignant first lines of Warren
Zevon’s final song “Keep Me In Your Heart” written as he died of lung cancer:
“Shadows
are falling and I'm running out of breath
Keep me
in your heart for a while …”
Thank
God my moles are boring. What a treat to walk into any doctor’s office the next
day and come out with a clean bill of health with no asterisks. My annual full body
check by my dermatologist on Monday found all my moles boring and my skin
neither of concern nor suspicion.
My Dad
was diagnosed and treated successfully for melanoma preceding his diagnosis and
death from pancreatic cancer. With family history and cancer such a bugaboo
needless to say I was apprehensive. … but for once this year it was all good
news!
May the
streak continue … on to pulmonologist next and then oncologist.
Patrick Leer
BLOGS:
health
lung cancer
My Lung Cancer Odyssey @ http://lung-cancer-survivor.blogspot.com/
Caregivingly Yours, MS Caregiver @ http://caregivinglyyours.blogspot.com/
It does tend to get on ones nerves if the 'facts' return to our brains to quickly. My last scan from last week show no change and that is always the best news!! I hope we both continue to have boring scan results and even more boring moles!!! :)
ReplyDeleteJackie aka Bama
When it comes to surviving lung cancer I will gladly raise a drink to boring results!
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