Brief Note

This will be brief, or at least as brief as I am able; those who know me well know that brief is a stretch for me! One housekeeping issue: we are getting a bit of spam on the comments, so I have added the "word verification" feature for comments. Sorry about that, and thank you all for your continued written (notes, cards, emails) encouragement.

On to the medicine. I talked to Pappas at Duke yesterday. He had shown Dee Dee's CAT scan and x-rays to about 6-7 docs at Duke. They all agreed that the lymph node must be addressed, but could not reach any consensus on how to get to it. It is adjacent to her aorta, and they simply disagree as to the best physical technique to get it. So, they decided that they will not do anything until she has had the octreatide scan and a PET scan. (For more info on the PET, this is a very good web site: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pet&bhcp=1)

The PET is scheduled at Duke for Monday at 2:30, and will last about 3 hours. The octreatide is at Mayo on the following Monday, 10/16. I don't know if the biopsy will be done at Mayo, or back here at Duke when we return.

This continues to be a tough time for myself and my sweet bride. The issue of the node has weighed heavily on her heart since the day they told us about it, and the extra difficulty getting to it, the number of docs looking at it, as well as the delays in finding out the answer are all contributing to the general sense of unease. Please continue to pray that it is a medical "red herring," and not of any real importance.

More later,

Tony