Tropic of Carciniods
I found out the afternoon of December 1st, Monday, in the office of possibly the most soft-spoken pulmonologist in California, that I have cancer, more specifically, a small carcinoid, in the lower lobe of my left lung.
And it's no major tumor either, just a modest little carcinoid, that previously - for the prior 6 months - was thought of, if at all, as a lesion. So it's like a promotion. It has been upgraded, if you will.
Sadly, for it, a carcinoid is barely cancer. Which is both good news and bad news. The good news is that, like being in my company, it will take fuckall forever to kill you. The bad news is that it is tougher to kill than John Travolta's career. Because, as cancer goes, it is horribly unambitious.
Unless it metastasizes. In which case, like a lot of things, once it hits the liver, you're cooked.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The overall survival rate is better, say, than that of members of any mid-1990's rock band. That is, somewhere approaching 83% for 5 years. And hell, I don't even have a 3 year plan, let alone a 5 year plan. What am I? V. V. Kuibyshev?
So many questions! And I haven't even begun my Christmas shopping.
So I check into Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles the Monday after Christmas, when some naughty bits will be removed from my lung. Sadly, some of my lung - and lymph nodes too - will have to pay the price. But them's the breaks. Not all body parts will make it to the finish line. And if you do make it with all parts intact, lucky you!
And so, that's the news. I have cancer. So what. I get phone calls from doctors [instead of me calling them.] And they treat me better. Is it worth it? Oh, hell yes!
In some quarters, folks want me to get inspected internally so that we can make damned certain no other carcinoids are crawling around. Oh, and that sounds fun! So throw an endoscopy on my plate, too! I really need some stranger to stick a camera down my windpipe. I'd rather watch the Lions play the Chiefs.
So I think I'll go out and run 3 or 4 miles, while I still have 2 good lungs to wheeze with.
posted by Peevish @ 10:00 PM
4 Comments:
So, I just ran across your post and would suggest that you have a CT scan and/or an octreoscan. These are typically ordered for people with carcinoid. By the way, I had symptoms since the early '90's, but it took until 1998 to discover what was wrong with me. I hope your docs are carcinoid specialists. You might join the ACOR list where Dr. Woltering monitors all posts and answers any questions asked. He is one of the world-renowned specialists. There are a number of labs that you might need done, too. Do you have any symptoms? Many docs don't know that a drip of octreotide is imperative during surgery. My surgeon keeps vials of it in his pocket in case of a carcinoid crisis on the operating table. I wish someone would have helped me work the maze of medical options before I had surgery, but I didn't have an expert on my side. It's so important that I can't stress it enough - and I worked for the CEO of one of the largest healthcare providers on the West Coast. I never post on blogs but for some reason I felt I should on yours.
I send comment number one. Don't take your carcinoid to too lightly; I know several who did (& didn't) and they are no longer with us!
Another carcinoid survivor here... Would suggest you investigate the Carcinoid Foundation's website at www.carcinoid.org. There is a section for the newly diagnosed, a list of recommended specialists (one of whom Dr. Wolin is at Cedars Sinai!) and lots of info about our rare cancer... I agree with the previous poster...Don't take this stuff lightly...your life could depend on your and your doctors' actions now. Get informed and INSIST ON THE OCTREOTIDE DRIP BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER YOUR SURGERY!!! You can contact Dr. Woltering directly by email at: ewolte@lsuhsc.edu. He recently posted the protocol for the octreotide drip for surgery on the carcinoid ACOR listserv. He even gives his cell phone number there to be used 24/7 for anyone who is having a problem! If you have any questions or if I can be of further assistance, you can contact me at diannaboomershine@yahoo.com.
Blessed be, Dianna
Wow. Who knew there were such a lot of carcinoid people trolling the internet, leaping to give advice? It's nice to hear that they care...though I suspect some kind of octreotide conspiracy, paranoid as I am.
I'll bet that none of them even knows that you are a dog. That's the internet for ya.
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