Keith Martin

 

 

 

 

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Well, we met with our oncologist today, to seek his opinion about the surgery.  I had a really prayed that if Keith was supposed to have the surgery that our doctor  would have changed his mind about it.  Remember he was originally against the surgery.  We had already decided that if he was still against it that we were going to ask for another opinion. Well, today he came in and the first thing he said was, "So, after looking over the report, I am assuming we are talking about surgery, right?"  We spent the next 30 minutes or so talking about the ins and outs and the risks of the surgery vs. the risks of waiting, and at the end of the appointment, Keith said, "I think I need to have the surgery." 

 

I asked the doctor, "So, at the end of 2 very bad months (6-8 week recovery) this whole cancer nightmare will be over and done, right?"  He said, "Exactly."  He said that he chance for recurrence after the surgery would be minimal.

 

At the end of the appointment, I told the doctor about my fleece and asked him why he had changed.  He said that it had to do with the SUV numbers on the new PET scan.  He said that those numbers were too high to ignore.  Whatever the reason, we left with absolute confidence that the next step for Keith would be the surgery.

 

So, March 18 is the day the surgery is scheduled.  Please begin praying now for all that surrounds this surgery.  It is very intricate, so please pray that God guides the hands of the surgeon.  The surgery is Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection.  Thanks so much for your prayers.  I will update occasionally between now and the surgery, but promise to go back to my daily updates after the surgery.

 

I am so sorry that I have not updated this sooner.  I literally went from the Moffit appointment to lighting training at the church, and have just now arrived back home.  So, here's the scoop:

 

We had prayed for a definite answer, and, while it is not the answer we wanted, it seems pretty black and white.  The Moffit PET scan indicated "activity" remaining in the tumor, which the surgeon feel like is cancer cells.  So, he definitely recommended surgery.  He spent a long time with us, going over all the risks and benefits.  It is a very big, scary surgery, that could take anywhere from 5-9 hours.   Keith will be in the hospital for up to 10 days, and then will be out of commission for 6 weeks.   He said, "This is a very complex surgery.  As a surgeon, it's cases like this that  wake me up at night thinking about it."  You really  love hearing THAT.

 

SO, for now the surgery is scheduled for March 18.  I can't lie to you...I am absolutely scared to death over this.  We have an appointment with our oncologist on Tuesday, so I know he will weigh in on it.  And, of course, everyone has an opinion...do the surgery, get it over with and gone.....get another opinion....wait and do more testing.    So, we really need your prayers.  I think we have pretty much decided to move forward with the surgery, but I just want to throw up when I think about it.  So, pray for peace, and the affirmation from our oncologist that we need to move forward with this.

 

What a day!

 

 

 

 

Keith talked with the Moffitt folks today to be sure that we got a copy of all the tests for our files and that our oncologist got copies.  He was told that the PET scan report was ready, but the MRI scans were still being read.  Not sure what that means.  It may just mean that the MRI scan reader (otherwise known as a radiologist, I think) was out that day!  Anyway, please pray as these tests are being evaluated. 

 

Our appointment on Friday is at 12:30.  I promise to update this as soon as we know anything and get home.  We are anticipating that the surgery will be on the horizon...just not sure when.