How many times in your life has a doctor called you at 8:15 at night? Not too often, right.
So it's a testament to Dr. Lee Zehngebot, the Orlando oncologist who helped save my life, that he called a short time ago to give me the abbreviated version of the results of my PET and CT scans taken Monday.
In short, he's "100 percent" confident that I have no cancer in me. The PET scan, which detects probable areas of the body in which cancer cells are growing, was negative.
Whew!
He said that the weird cyst-like confab in my chest, though, has grown since the last set of scans in August. While he's confident it's not a cancerous tumor growing, he's not sure exactly what it is.
Most likely, he said, it's "some kind of collection of fluid."
So Dr. Z said I should call surgeon Dr. Joseph Boyer in the morning to set up an appointment for next week. Dr. Boyer is the head of thoracic surgery at Florida Hospital, and the guy who cut and filleted my stomach and esophagus into a working organ from a cancerous one.
I imagine the next few weeks or months might involve a biopsy or two and possibly a surgery. But at least the doctors won't be treating a cancerous tumor.
And that's the best news this holiday season.
Showing posts with label florida hospital cancer institute. Show all posts
Showing posts with label florida hospital cancer institute. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving for me: Two years ago, I was not sure this day would arrive
It's amazing how the future looks.
Two years ago I was not certain my future would include today, Thanksgiving 2009, or my birthday a couple of days later.
In my mind, the future looks like today.
Two years ago, I'd just been removed from my 24/7 chemo pump and was preparing -- as I am now -- for tests on Dec. 7. I was thankful then for my doctors, my family, my friends and for life.
Still, I remember telling my cousin David Spitz, the popular Connecticut chiropractor, that I feared I would not make it to age 50. I was panicked, often tearful. But 50 became a goal. At the time, it seemed distant, remote, unattainable.
Today, it's a bit closer -- just a few days away.
So on this Thanksgiving, I feel truly blessed with that family, those friends, my wonderful doctors, their wonderful staffs, and the knowledge that I've reached another milestone, another goal on the road to recovery from esophageal cancer.
And as a way of paying it forward, I'll reiterate as I have probably too often in this blog: If you get heartburn, if you have acid reflux or even if you take a few Tums or Rolaids every day, you could get cancer. See a doctor, have an endoscopy, consult your family doctor or gastroenterologist.
Heartburn and acid reflux could lead to Barrett's Esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer. There are treatments at that stage to help avoid cancer. But doing nothing is not one of them.
Be thankful for what you have today, as I am, and celebrate with your loved ones. Be kind to those loved ones and take care of yourself.
Oh, another tip here -- moderate amounts of turkey, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and pumpkin pie are not known causes of Barrett's Esophagus or esophageal cancer. So eat up and celebrate, with your loved ones of course!
Two years ago I was not certain my future would include today, Thanksgiving 2009, or my birthday a couple of days later.
In my mind, the future looks like today.
Two years ago, I'd just been removed from my 24/7 chemo pump and was preparing -- as I am now -- for tests on Dec. 7. I was thankful then for my doctors, my family, my friends and for life.
Still, I remember telling my cousin David Spitz, the popular Connecticut chiropractor, that I feared I would not make it to age 50. I was panicked, often tearful. But 50 became a goal. At the time, it seemed distant, remote, unattainable.
Today, it's a bit closer -- just a few days away.
So on this Thanksgiving, I feel truly blessed with that family, those friends, my wonderful doctors, their wonderful staffs, and the knowledge that I've reached another milestone, another goal on the road to recovery from esophageal cancer.
And as a way of paying it forward, I'll reiterate as I have probably too often in this blog: If you get heartburn, if you have acid reflux or even if you take a few Tums or Rolaids every day, you could get cancer. See a doctor, have an endoscopy, consult your family doctor or gastroenterologist.
Heartburn and acid reflux could lead to Barrett's Esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer. There are treatments at that stage to help avoid cancer. But doing nothing is not one of them.
Be thankful for what you have today, as I am, and celebrate with your loved ones. Be kind to those loved ones and take care of yourself.
Oh, another tip here -- moderate amounts of turkey, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and pumpkin pie are not known causes of Barrett's Esophagus or esophageal cancer. So eat up and celebrate, with your loved ones of course!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The check was in the mail
Finally, I was able to follow through on a pledge to make a donation to Florida Hospital Cancer Institute.
That happened this morning.
In the name of transparency, I just endorsed the check to the Florida Hospital Foundation.
It wasn't a massive amount, just $149 and change. But it felt good to pass the money along from -- you, my friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers. It was all your doing. And I thank you.
Jaclyn Lindsey, a development specialist, was in the Foundation's Orange Avenue office when I arrived this morning. She's a good person and was honestly very happy to have the check. It will be bundled with other, similar small donations and will be used to purchase equipment for the Cancer Institute that might just help save someone's life.
Maybe even my own. Or yours.
There are other ways to donate small amounts. I learned a couple of weeks ago that the Foundation set up a way for cell-phone users to text in $5 donations from their cell phones. Just text the word FIGHT to 90999. The $5 donation will be billed to your cell phone account.
So let's keep up this fight against cancer of all kinds. One of the best ways is by checking out this blog regularly.
That happened this morning.
In the name of transparency, I just endorsed the check to the Florida Hospital Foundation.
It wasn't a massive amount, just $149 and change. But it felt good to pass the money along from -- you, my friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers. It was all your doing. And I thank you.
Jaclyn Lindsey, a development specialist, was in the Foundation's Orange Avenue office when I arrived this morning. She's a good person and was honestly very happy to have the check. It will be bundled with other, similar small donations and will be used to purchase equipment for the Cancer Institute that might just help save someone's life.
Maybe even my own. Or yours.
There are other ways to donate small amounts. I learned a couple of weeks ago that the Foundation set up a way for cell-phone users to text in $5 donations from their cell phones. Just text the word FIGHT to 90999. The $5 donation will be billed to your cell phone account.
So let's keep up this fight against cancer of all kinds. One of the best ways is by checking out this blog regularly.
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