#4 CANCER ROLLER COASTER RIDE CONTINUED
Now back to the results of the PET scan. My new oncologist insisted that I have a lung biopsy. On May 12, 2020 I found myself in the same prep room as the port installation. I was VERY NERVOUS about the thought of a long needle shoved through my lung. Because I liked the doctor’s personality that installed the port, I requested the same doctor to do the lung biopsy. This time my husband was not allowed with me because of COVID-19. I was nervous but because I had already been in this area of the hospital when I got my port installed, I was at least familiar with the area. Therefore, I was not quite as apprehensive.
Prior to arriving at the hospital, I had felt the Lord wanted me to pray for the doctor. Like usual, he came to talk to me before the procedure. I told him I wanted to pray and instantly began praying that God would give him wisdom and help the procedure to go well. Just as soon as I finished, he made the sign of the cross, (I knew he was Catholic). He instantly informed me that I had a 50% chance that my lung could collapse. Something rose up in me and I instantly responded that I just prayed, and my God was not going to let that happen!
Again, I was wheeled into the very lit procedure room. Some of the nurses remembered me from the previous procedure. I realized I had had enough procedures there that they recognized me. That made me feel…..not sure how to describe it. I felt special, weird, strange all wrapped together. The doctor began numbing me. AGAIN, the shot REALLY HURT! He gave me THREE SHOTS. I dreaded each one!
As I laid there, the doctor put grid paper across my chest. He used this so the CAT Scan would know exactly where to do the biopsy. Laying on a table, my body was inserted feet first into the machine. The machine moved me in and out of the CAT scan while it took pictures. When the doctor knew the exact position to perform the biopsy, I heard a quick/loud noise. I am not sure how to describe it, but it sounded like the instrument made a punching sound. I assumed that was how he quickly inserted the needle down through my chest, through the lung and into the tumor. I heard another noise kind of like a drill. Imagine the tissue being augured up through the needle. They did this approximately 6 times until the lab technician said there was enough tissue to test. During the procedure I felt differed pain on my left side under my arm pit. The doctor said he probably hit a nerve during the procedure. The actual biopsy only took about 10 minutes. The preparation took a lot longer. For the procedure I used Xanax again to help calm me. They also gave me a little bit of oxygen to help with breathing anxiety. I praised God that he answered prayer. My lung did not collapse!
When the procedure was done, four people gathered the sheet that was under me and lifted me to another bed. My left back hurt really bad under the bra strap area. Thankfully the pain under my arm pit eased up after the needle was removed. They took me to have an X-ray. After the procedure, I had a hacky cough and was told not to cough. That was hard to do.
They helped me sit up on the side of the bed in preparation for the Xray. It was VERY PAINFUL in my back. They had me stand up for the X-ray. They asked the doctor for prescription pain medicine to give me. By the time I got to recovery which seemed like I was transported all the way across the hospital, my back pain was better. Therefore, I asked if I could just have 2 extra strength Tylenol instead of prescription pain medicine.
The doctor who performed the procedure typically only kept patients 2 hours after the procedure if they recover well. All the other doctors typically kept their patients four hours. After about two hours they wheeled my bed to an X-ray area. They took a second Xray. That time they sat me on the edge of the bed. The doctor said the X-ray looked good and I could go home and rest. He said I could cough if I needed to but to also take deep breaths when I did. I asked him why I was coughing. He said probably from sinus drainage.
I was shocked at how sleepy I was. I slept a lot when I got home. Around supper time, it felt like I had a lot of fluid in my chest, and I had a hard time coughing it out. Because of that I was afraid to sleep lying on my back that night. I slept elevated on the couch instead.
We waited and waited for the pathological results of the lung biopsy. Eventually May 22nd, ten days after the biopsy, I was told that locally they were not able to determine the results of the lung biopsy. Therefore, the biopsied tissue was sent to the University of Michigan for further testing. We waited and waited for the results.
I will never forget the phone call. It was over Memorial Weekend. We were out of town visiting my daughter’s family. The phone rang. I recognized the number. It was my oncologist. I did not want to answer it. I emotionally could not handle any more bad news. I finally decided I had no choice so I answered the phone.
The oncologist said they had just gotten the pathological results back from the University of Michigan. It showed that it was Thymoma Cancer. I had never heard of that before. She explained it was a very rare cancer. She said it was also very rare to have two different types of cancer at the same time. At that point she was not sure if it was a totally different cancer or if the breast cancer had metastasized, meaning moved to another area of my body. She wanted to refer me to IU Cancer Center for further evaluation.
I got off the phone and just cried and cried in my husband’s arms. I internally screamed; how can this be happening to me. I felt like I kept praying and praying and most of the time the answers were more bad news. However, it was a blessing that I was at my daughter’s home when I received the news. Her family was able to comfort me some.
On May 27th, I met over the computer with a surgeon from Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis which is part of IU Medical Center. She confirmed that I would need to have the cancer removed. However, she wanted to consult with the IU “Thymus Guru”. She also wanted IU labs to review the biopsied tissue and results. She needed to determine if the cancer was metastasized or two different cancers. So that took several more weeks.
We were supposed to have begun chemotherapy in May of 2020. Because of the delayed biopsy results, chemotherapy was postponed. Eventually my local oncologist consulted with the Thymus Guru. It was confirmed that the thymoma cancer was a totally different cancer and not metastasized from the breast. If it had metastasized that meant that particular cancer would have spread to another part of my body. Grateful it had not. That was good news! I had two completely unrelated cancers which was very rare. It was decided that I needed chemotherapy for both the breast and thymoma cancers. At that time, the thymoma cancer was 4.8 cm. They needed chemotherapy to shrink it so later it would remove easier. The Thymus Guru came up with a chemotherapy prescription that worked for both types of cancer.
I not only traveled the rollercoaster ride of breast cancer but then added a second cancer to the rough ride. Finally, a month later than originally planned, I began chemotherapy.
I want to thank you for taking time to follow my journey of cancer. It definitely has not been an easy journey. However, in future posts you will learn how God had a purpose in all of this which eventually changed my perspective.
In the next post, I will explain my experience of chemotherapy. I will show lots of pictures, which should help you get a better understanding of what chemotherapy looks like.
I want to leave you with some encouragement. Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT) If it would not have been for my relationship with Christ, I don’t think I would have made it. I had the confidence that he was right beside me every step of the way during this journey. Therefore, I made it because he gave me the strength to endure everything.
