This is really what I’ve been dreading more than anything. They have you complete a bunch of tests, and then someone is responsible for giving you the results. In my case, I actually met with three oncologists. The first two are what they call diagnostic oncologists.
He (The other oncologist didn’t really say much) was super, super nice!
In a nutshell, he agrees that I have something in my chest that is very concerning. I think he could see that we were scared. He was nothing less than completely confident!
At one point, he asked if I wanted to see the images from my testing. I told him I didn’t. I think that would just make me more nervous than I already am.
He told me he was the one who is going to do my biopsy. It’s been scheduled for August 2, 2023.
Wanting to let me know of the risks, he indicated that one and 5000 people could have internal bleeding. He says it’s very rare and I shouldn’t worry about it. He also said that one in 100 people could have a collapsed lung. He says if that happens, they would just keep me overnight and let me leave the next day.
He says the collapsed lung could happen for any number of reasons.
He drew a picture on a piece of paper and showed me that I have a small mass close to my trachea. The other mass is a little further down in my lung. It’s also much bigger. It’s roughly the size of a lime or a little bigger. He says the one that is bigger Will be harder to get to you, so they are going to biopsy the smaller one.
He feels they are both the same, so getting a biopsy of the small one is our best bet.
All in all, I think Denise and I felt much better after leaving. He told us that medicine has come a long way in 2023 and he feels I will be just fine!
Now we wait until next Wednesday.
