I can't seem to reckon the time line of what happened in April and May until the 30th of May when I had surgery to remove the tumor from my sinuses. As already mentioned, during that time I had three weeks of antibiotics. Two weeks with no improvement, another round prescribed, and during that next week of the second round, is when Jim decided enough was enough and going back to the ENT demanded the doctor look for something else, since no progress was being made.
That's when the CT scan happened. Whether it happened right then, or soon after, I don't remember. I could find out by looking in the several inches of paper information I collected over the months, but I don't want to. The exact days aren't important.
Then I had an MRI. It took about 2 1/2 hours. I slept through most of it and didn't realize how long it took. That gave me a twinge of the seriousness of the situation. I asked if they could tell me anything. Of course, they couldn't, but I could tell from the vibes in the room, that something very serious
was going on.
The crux of the matter is there was a mass in my sinus area and I was soon in Omaha with an appointment with a head and neck oncologist.
I don't remember very much about those days in between. I think I was wandering around in a fog, not wanting to think about what this mass in my head meant.
I was in denial.
I remember walking up to the hospital that sunny May day, reading the sign, Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center and it hit me, "They think this is CANCER!"
Me, with cancer, I couldn't take it in. I couldn't process it.
They took the biopsy that day.
Lynette was with us and she and Jim could see the tumor that was making it's way down
my nasal cavities.
Between this time and the time of the surgery, we received the pathology report and I had a PET scan. That PET scan was no fun. I was given a specific diet before. Essentially, no carbs at all. I was told that the shot I was getting was slightly radioactive and would detect any concentrations of sugar in my body. At the radiology department in the hospital I was directed to the radiation room by a very dismissive and arrogant man. He was also joking around. It depressed and frightened me because everyone else I was surrounded by was sympathetic and helpful. Then they put me in a dark room with instructions to not move for one hour. It was extremely boring with too much time alone to worry. They checked on me half way through and at 50 minutes. I had the PET scan which is done in a machine that looks like you're going through a big doughnut. It's not enclosed like the MRI machine.
Then it was time to wait for the surgery date which took place just over a week from the biopsy.
Results of the pathology report:
Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, Stage IV B
The stage 4B has more to do with the speed of the growth than anything else
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