Below is a draft of a blog that I had begun to write after the last cancer surgery. It shares the details of that first procedure, and will give you an idea of what is in store for the one that is upcoming:
This has been a busy six-week period. I guess you knew that when I stopped writing the blogs. This time there have been many dressing changes to the three or four areas involved in the skin grafting and the donor sites. To date, all surgical areas have healed with no complications; especially glad that he had not infections!
Last week we were in Durham for three days, Sunday through Wednesday. Lee had appointments with the ENT doctor, the lung transplant doctor, and finally a consult with the oncologist. The doctor who did the lymph node dissection, along with a removal of his right parotid gland had recommended radiation to the area on his forehead and scalp. It was one of those visits to Duke when Lee had appointments with specific doctors only to be shuffled after we arrived to the Resident doctor. This happens sometimes in large hospitals and clinics, but it was unusual that three of the four doctors he was scheduled to see were "not available"!
Well, that created a disappointing environment. So it was that the three-day clinic visit ended with his consult with the Oncologist, (which, by the way was with a substitute doctor, also). At that point, Lee was not conducive to any comments regarding radiation. The treatment presented to him would involve Proton Radiation to his scalp for a period of 4-5 weeks, five days per week. He made no decision at that time and we returned home later that afternoon.
The following week, Lee consulted with three dermatologist who had followed him throughout all his encounters of skin cell cancer. Neither of the three recommended radiation. Lee made the decision NOT to have the radiation on Thursday. The following day, Friday, he received a call from Duke with the results of his bronchoscopy on Tuesday. His biopsy showed that he was in moderate rejection and would need to go on the steroid therapy to stop the progression of rejection.
We had both anticipated that call. Lee's anti-rejection meds had been reduced by one-half in March and we knew that his risk for rejection had gone higher. The steroid therapy began this past Wednesday and he tolerated it well.
finished the last dose of the I.V. this morning. Tomorrow he will begin the oral
No comments:
Post a Comment