Another update taken directly from Mom's personal blog:
Just another Detail to Address
If nothing else, I have found that I am resilient. I am grateful for this.
Maybe all I needed was an inhaler (an asthmatic response to all of this perhaps?)
Maybe I was just doing to much and stressing my lungs?
Maybe I could just run over to Urgent Care and get a second opinion...before I got the first?
Then I stepped back into reality and called my doctor on a Sunday morning. No surprise. They wanted me to report to St. Joseph's emergency room.
Okay then...was it a blood clot? Pneumonia?
After xrays and CT Scans...I got the second most startling answer I have received during a hospital visit. The cancer has spread to my lungs. It is a "sprinkling of nodules" that is causing me to be a little breathless as I speak. Now here is the news that I heard....
It makes a better case for approval of Avastin (a chemo drug that my insurance company has not approved yet)
It gives definition to my battle...yes, the cancer is alive and well and I need chemo!
Points for Tammy....my oxygen levels are high enough...I do not need to carry a tank with me yet.
Best news...I can exercise and fight this. (I thought it might limit my physical ability...now I know, that I can power through this)
Over the weekend, I realized I was short of breath and that it did not seem to be "going away". I checked my punch list for "things you should report to your doctor" and acknowledged that this indeed was on the punch list. And then I did the "Tammy Thing"...tried to figure out if I "really" needed to bother the doctor...
Maybe all I needed was an inhaler (an asthmatic response to all of this perhaps?)
Maybe I was just doing to much and stressing my lungs?
Maybe I could just run over to Urgent Care and get a second opinion...before I got the first?
Then I stepped back into reality and called my doctor on a Sunday morning. No surprise. They wanted me to report to St. Joseph's emergency room.
Okay then...was it a blood clot? Pneumonia?
After xrays and CT Scans...I got the second most startling answer I have received during a hospital visit. The cancer has spread to my lungs. It is a "sprinkling of nodules" that is causing me to be a little breathless as I speak. Now here is the news that I heard....
It makes a better case for approval of Avastin (a chemo drug that my insurance company has not approved yet)
It gives definition to my battle...yes, the cancer is alive and well and I need chemo!
Points for Tammy....my oxygen levels are high enough...I do not need to carry a tank with me yet.
Best news...I can exercise and fight this. (I thought it might limit my physical ability...now I know, that I can power through this)And confirmation...I am doing the right thing...chemo is the method to treat the lungs as well as the rest of it. It actually gave me cause to look forward to my treatment today.
My visual today, I am fighting mad and my opponent (cancer) just energized me. I am coming out shooting, swinging, using whatever I have in my arsenal to do battle. And yes, to me, the lung involvement is simply just another detail.
This remains a great experience!
~Tammy
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