Tuesday, July 16, 2013

July 16

I sent an entire page of questions to Doc B yesterday. She called me to discuss.

Q: Dr. C said that there’s a likelihood that I would lose the ability to swallow, resulting in a permanent feeding tube in my stomach. Did he just mean food or will I be unable to swallow my own saliva? I’m suddenly picturing myself lurching around constantly drooling.

A: There will definitely be some drooling initially but it will not be permanent. And Dr. C is actually still holding onto the hope that the feeding tube won't be permanent either.

Q: Dr. C said he was going to contact Dr. A to see what she recommends as far as going through radiation again. Any idea if he spoke to her yet or does he need to wait until after the biopsy/mapping?

A: Dr. C is not going to contact Dr. A until after the biopsy/mapping is done tomorrow.

Q: Last summer after my glossectomy, there were milestones to reach before I could be released from the hospital, like getting the staples out of my arm, getting the drain tubes out of my neck, getting the feeding tube out, getting the trach out. You said the trach will likely be in longer this time, does that mean a longer hospital stay or would you actually send me home with the trach still in? Any idea how long this hospital stay might be? Last time I think it was 9 days.
 
A: People can be sent home with the trach still in, this will not delay release from the hospital. Unclear how long the hospital stay will be until we see what we're dealing with.

Q: Last time I was in ICU the first day or two, will that be what happens this time as well?

A: Yes, the first couple of days will be spent in the ICU.

Q: Can you tell at all from the MRI or the PET scan the size of the ‘active’ area or do you really have no idea until after the biopsy? Are we talking the size of a pea, a quarter, an orange?

A: The tumor looks to be about 3 cm or the size of a half dollar.

Q: Last time I was out of work for 6 weeks. Mostly, I think, due to the arm graft. Since there is no plastic surgery involved this time around do you think my length of time out of work will be shorter or are there other considerations I don’t know about that might make it longer? 

A: We're sorry this wasn't made clear to you. There IS plastic surgery involved. Dr. Vega will once again be in on this. Anytime a 'flap' is put into place, a plastic surgeon is involved. Even though there will not be a skin graft to cover up where they take the flesh from your thigh, a piece of plastic will be inserted in place of the flesh that is taken. And you should count on taking 6-8 weeks off from work again, especially since you are run down (yes I took offense to that statement when she said it!) from your prior battle with cancer.

Note: And on a side note, I’m having some difficulty swallowing. I noticed it some time between the MRI and the PET scan and it’s a little worse each day. I’m assuming it’s something that will be noted during the biopsy on Wednesday but I wanted to bring attention to it now.

A: Yes, you have a 3 cm tumor in your throat. This would account for difficulty swallowing, it's not in your head.
 

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