September 11, 2019 - "I had my consultation with the thoracic surgeon"

For now, I'll try not to babble, which I'm afraid I might do on the phone. Another reason I prefer email.

The long and short seems to be that all this testing has been to try to discover how well I can handle having an entire lung removed. That's what it appears to be that he is mulling over. They still don't know if this mass is cancer, but I saw how big it is on the CT Scan and it's kinda wrapping around the esophagus and trachea, as well as pushing on the heart sack and chest wall. I've been already feeling evidence of this anyway. The lungs are quite a bit smaller in our chests than I thought. This mass is pretty big, with that considered.

The way Dr. Lancaster described it, the right lung does (approx) 55% of the oxygenating and the left does 45%. Taking out my right lung would leave me short of breath (he fears, in his own words) and possibly on oxygen for the rest of my life. He thinks he'd also have to remove the protective sack around the heart, as well. They want to do a biopsy now because if it's cancer they can treat it with radiation to shrink it and possibly save a little bit of the lung. He remarked that it probably would leave me with esophagitis (I've read enough to know it's no fun) and/or other common issues related to radiation. You can come to your own conclusions; I'm coming to mine. It kinda looks like a lose-lose, even though there is actually a chance this is not cancer. Apparently, a benign growth can kill you, if it starts growing or changing. The surgeon is afraid that this could become inoperable if left alone. Personally, I think that everything he's outlined could kill me just as surely. Sobering, to say the least.

The thing that strikes me is that he is caring and compassionate, as well as thorough as a man can be. He's calling for a sit down with me and a pulmonologist, a cardiologist, and an oncologist to discuss (or maybe brainstorm) options. I'm not making up my mind about much until I chew on this a while, after the last testing and group talk. This is, so far, all about the AMA and Medicine, which is not the end-all by any means. Not in my book, anyway. There are options not related to the (seemingly for this) limited options for the Medical Profession.

I promised I'd keep you guys in the know, so that's what I know (or feel I know currently). Now phone calls won't be so confusing, I don't think. They'll be more Q&A, which suits me fine. I'm pretty open-minded right now, too. I hope I have been clear about what I saw, felt and heard yesterday morning. It's pretty involved. A lot to think about, to be sure.

Love you guys,
Ken