Gyn onc opinion

A. and I went to see my gyn onc today. He was pretty good today, more like his old self. Probably helps that he had a resident or whatever with him. Anyway, he was not feeling really sure about the PET/CT results and wants me to have a CT scan to determine the size of the tumor. He says that the metabolic activity that the PET read could be for various reasons and that the CT part is not a good indicator of size (I need the type that is by itself and with the dye). So I have made an appt. for Jan. 10th for a CT and he put an attention on the script for the radiologist who did my ct-guided biopsy to read it too. Then I go back to see him on the 14th to see what he thinks. His feeling is that it's likely too dangerous to remove and if it's small and stable not worth killing me to get it out (or something to that effect).

We also talked about Megace, he said I can go on that at any time if I want. As he put it, there is "some hormone receptivity" in the original cancer. From what I have read it's definitely an iffy thing as to whether it will do anything or not. I will talk to my med onc. next Wed. and get his opinion also. It's certainly a lot less toxic than chemo, but not without it's problems. One being weight gain, which I know people think is the least of my problems right now, but it's a big issue for me. After my 1st cancer back when Z. was a baby I gained a lot of weight (from treatment and afterwards) and started to get high blood pressure and my blood sugars levels were going up (big family history of diabetes). I went on the Zone diet and lost 60 pounds which I kept off for a few years. Since the endo cancer diagnosis in 2004 I have gained 50 pounds. My blood pressure is going up (it was sky high in the drs. office today, although my daily readings at home are much better usually), so far my blood sugars levels are okay but that could change easily. So gaining more weight is a big health issue for me. They use Megace to help people who don't have an appetite, I have heard of weight increases from 10 to 80 pounds from women that I know who have used it for cancer treatment.

We did find out more about this tumor and it's location. I feel like every time I go to the drs. I find out more, I'm not quite sure why I never got all this info at the beginning (or maybe I just never heard it, who knows). Anyway, the tumor is in something called a retrocaval lymph node near some muscle (we both heard something like solus but when I google it I can only find soleus which is in the leg). But whatever he meant, he said the tumor was right up against this muscle. So no wonder my back hurts!

I never remember to ask for scripts but luckily A. remembered so I walked out with scripts for a muscle relaxant and something to help me sleep when I need it. We did leave feeling a little better, not really sure why. Maybe because the gyn onc didn't really seem all that concerned about the report, although as I said to A. you have to realize that he's coming from the point of view that while he's trying to keep me alive, he's not necessarily expecting the cancer to go away either.

So, I think we can relax a little and enjoy Xmas before the next drs. appt. on Wednesday. And if for some reason I can't, well I have some pharmaceuticals now that will help me to!