It is a JOURNEY!

Joyce and I went to see Dr. Yom this morning. As most of you know I had a PET-CT Scan on Monday. Our greatest hope was that the results we'd receive would be a "Clear" scan. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

A little background will help to define where I am now. When I had the MRI done at the 8 weeks mark, it showed that the primary tumor (Tongue Tumor) was progressing very well and that it led us to believe that the Tongue Tumor was "gone". What did show up on the MRI was an irregularity with the three Lymph Node Tumors. So, the PET-CT Scan was scheduled to check on the Lymph Node Tumors. One other thing we learned today, MRIs are more effective in looking at the Tongue Tumor, while the PET-CT scan is more effective with the Lymph Node Tumors.

So, specifically the PET-CT Scan showed that the Lymph Node Tumors are fine (healing as expected), but that the Tongue Tumor did not look good (not progressing as expected). We are disappointed with the lack of a clear report, but understand that my health is truly a journey. What this means is that I will not get a 3 month reprieve from my doctors, but will have another MRI at the 16 week mark (Mid-December) and that I will get to see another member of my medical team that I haven't seen since the diagnostic stage - ENT Surgeon, Dr. Mark Courey. Upon reflection this is a good thing as it will mean another set of eyes will be looking at me. I trust Dr. Yom completely, but as she said this morning, it is a good thing to have all my medical team following my progress.

I have learned that medicine is so much more of an art than a science and that you can often get conflicting information. We are very hopeful that the MRI is correct for the Tongue Tumor and that the PET-CT is correct for the Lymph Node Tumors. It is the likely result and what we are counting on.

Be well!