- R
I've been staring at this screen on and off for 4 days.
I don't know where to start...I'm still in disbelief...
Cancer...All that comes to my mind when I think about this horrible word is that it sucks...
In September Dave became ill with a respiratory infection that he couldn't get rid of. After quite some time the doctor ordered a chest x-ray and said it was pneumonia. Even after antibiotics and a clear chest x-ray he still couldn't take a deep breath without discomfort and would become winded easily. Week after week his symptoms worsened. After finally receiving a CAT scan of his chest the doctors discovered a mass on his lung the size of a lime. This prompted the doctors to have a PET Scan of his entire body and he was sent to a cardiologist at Loma Linda due to the mass being so close to his heart. At the appointment with the cardiologist he went over the results of the PT Scan. The mass in his chest is wrapped around his aorta and is pressing on his lung and heart. The scan also showed a mass in his liver and another in his kidney. This doctor believed that Dave has thymic cancer that had spread. Thymic cancer is very rare and the cardiologist said Loma Linda has only seen 10 cases over the last 10 years. After researching Thymic cancer we found that there are only about 400 cases in the US each year, which makes it hard to have a set treatment plan. On Monday June 1st Dave went in for a biopsy on his liver during which they found 4 golf ball size tumors. After waiting almost a week for the results Dave ended up in the emergency room on June 8th in extreme pain. After another PET Scan, a tumor on his spine was found and the original tumors had grown slightly. The tumor on his spine had caused a pressure fracture on one of his vertebrae. This is what was causing the pain. The following day the doctor gave the results of the biopsy...Thymic Carcinoma stage 4. Things moved really quickly from there. On Thursday the 11th we were already in an oncologist office in Murrieta talking about treatment. They wanted to start chemo the following Monday and radiation immediately on his spine to relieve some of the pressure on the vertebrae. Sure enough Monday the 15 was his first chemo treatment followed by another Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday morning we went to the cardiologist at Loma Linda to hear what the tumor board there had to say. The cardiologist said that this particular cancer wasn't curable and that chemo is being used to his prolong life.
To keep up with our story please go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davebrown8
I don't know where to start...I'm still in disbelief...
Cancer...All that comes to my mind when I think about this horrible word is that it sucks...
In September Dave became ill with a respiratory infection that he couldn't get rid of. After quite some time the doctor ordered a chest x-ray and said it was pneumonia. Even after antibiotics and a clear chest x-ray he still couldn't take a deep breath without discomfort and would become winded easily. Week after week his symptoms worsened. After finally receiving a CAT scan of his chest the doctors discovered a mass on his lung the size of a lime. This prompted the doctors to have a PET Scan of his entire body and he was sent to a cardiologist at Loma Linda due to the mass being so close to his heart. At the appointment with the cardiologist he went over the results of the PT Scan. The mass in his chest is wrapped around his aorta and is pressing on his lung and heart. The scan also showed a mass in his liver and another in his kidney. This doctor believed that Dave has thymic cancer that had spread. Thymic cancer is very rare and the cardiologist said Loma Linda has only seen 10 cases over the last 10 years. After researching Thymic cancer we found that there are only about 400 cases in the US each year, which makes it hard to have a set treatment plan. On Monday June 1st Dave went in for a biopsy on his liver during which they found 4 golf ball size tumors. After waiting almost a week for the results Dave ended up in the emergency room on June 8th in extreme pain. After another PET Scan, a tumor on his spine was found and the original tumors had grown slightly. The tumor on his spine had caused a pressure fracture on one of his vertebrae. This is what was causing the pain. The following day the doctor gave the results of the biopsy...Thymic Carcinoma stage 4. Things moved really quickly from there. On Thursday the 11th we were already in an oncologist office in Murrieta talking about treatment. They wanted to start chemo the following Monday and radiation immediately on his spine to relieve some of the pressure on the vertebrae. Sure enough Monday the 15 was his first chemo treatment followed by another Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday morning we went to the cardiologist at Loma Linda to hear what the tumor board there had to say. The cardiologist said that this particular cancer wasn't curable and that chemo is being used to his prolong life.
To keep up with our story please go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davebrown8
Organizer and beneficiary
Nancy Brown
Beneficiary