karenulijohn

Today was results day when we visited with the oncologist this morning.  Dr. Colbourne told us that the CAT scan showed no signs of cancer and the blood work came back normal.  Something in his demeanor kept us from jumping up and down with joy, so we waited for the other shoe to drop.  And, it did!  CAT scans see all, apparently.  Apart from possible gallstones and diverticulosis, Harvey has an aneurysm on the descending aortic artery.  It is about 4.5cm and slightly below the heart.  The possible consequence of this was graphically described by the doctor when he said, “if it bursts, you’ll feel a quick pain and you’ll be dead in less than a minute.”  To this, Harvey only replied, “good!”  Dr. Colbourne went on to say that this aneurysm appears to be stable and its location and size are not as worrisome as it could be if it were larger and a few cms closer to the heart.  Thus, we will add a new doctor to our list with a visit to the cardio-vascular surgeon, Dr. Cardozza.

As we were driving home, I asked Harvey if he was worried.  “No,” he replied.  “There is no point in worrying about something I can’t change.”  At that, I burst into tears and told him that I was afraid.  I can’t imagine my life without him.  Fortunately, that opened up a good dialogue which provided a release for me, and I think for him too.  We agreed that we need to cherish each other and the time we have together all the more.

Yet, life goes on.  I walked my five miles, got a haircut, and did some shopping at CVS.  He is at a Rotary connected meeting this afternoon, and will chair the HAM club meeting this evening.

Here are some statistics you may be interested in regarding Harvey’s medical issue.  He has had 37 medical appointments since April including 3 surgeries, 5 radiation treatments, 2 PET scans, 2 CAT scans, 1 MRI, 4 Yervoy infusions, and numerous  blood draws.  They sure add up, don’t they?

Tomorrow morning, Harvey will have a CAT scan as part of the study to follow up on the first phase of the treatment.  He will “donate” more blood on Tuesday, and then, the following Tuesday we will meet with the oncologist to go over the results.  We are hopeful that the scan will not reveal any rogue cancer cells anywhere which will mean that his body is successfully annihilating the melanoma cells.  We hoped that we would not be making the trip to Sutter quite as often during the next twelve weeks, but we heard otherwise from the nurse who did the blood draw last Tuesday.  It turns out that the port itself needs to be “flushed” at regular intervals of every three to four weeks.   As always, he is taking this in his stride, and on the surface, seems totally unaffected.

I, on the other hand, seem to be experiencing all of the side effects that he is not.  Since I am a person who is susceptible to suggestion, I have been known to acquire symptoms of obscure diseases just from hearing about them or watching shows depicting illness.  Many years ago, Harvey banned me from watching “Dr. Welby, M.D.” when I told him that I thought I might have leprosy.  The episode of Dr. Welby a week earlier had been about a young girl who discovered a rash on her hand, similar to the one that I had.  Unlike her, however, I had not visited a leper colony.  After two episodes of “House”, Harvey made it clear that it was dangerous for my health to watch such a show.  I am, however, allowed to watch shows that depict autopsies, like “NCIS” and “CIS”, presumably because if I get one of those, I won’t know it.

As always, we thank you for your thoughts and prayers and support.