Just a tad nervous.

Many of you will already have heard all of this by  now.  Feel free to skim read or just skip it altogether.  I just didn't want anyone to have an excuse to have not heard the latest.

I've been feeling "under the weather" for a month or so lately.  Not really specific symptoms of anything, just nauseous, achy, elevated temperature, right side flank pain, etc.  I finally went to see my doctor last week.  He ran blood tests, urine tests, etc.  Everything came back normal!  Except some blood in the urine.  So he scheduled me for a CT scan this morning. 

Usually when they suspect kidney stones (which I'm a bit of a pro at) they do a KUB (an xray of the kidney, ureters, and bladder).  So I was a little surprised to jump straight to the CT scan.  But I've been feeling so "off" that I was willing to do the more detailed study.  I've had several abdominal CTs in the past pertaining to kidney stones so I knew what to expect.  After the three runs through the machine the technician said she could see a small stone, but wanted to run the IV contrast to rule out any non-calcified causes for the pain and bleeding.  This is the first time they've done contrast.

I expected to get a call back from the nurse tomorrow or the next day or so, to tell me that I have a small stone and deal with it.  I was surprised then to get a phone call from the doctor's office within an hour of the scan.  I was even more surprised that it was the actual doctor himself!  He told me what I knew: "they see a small stone in there, still in the kidney.  It could be causing the bleeding so we'll just keep an eye on it."  Fine.  That's what I expected until he pulled out the "but....."

The radiologist compared my new CT to the last one they'd done for the same reason back in 2008 and they found a lump.  A tumor.  It is apparently located by my colon, though not involved with the colon (meaning that the colon hasn't caused the tumor, nor is the tumor causing complications in the colon).  It is oblong, measuring at 1 centimeter by 3 centimeters.  There is no way to know whether it's cancerous or benign until it has been removed and studied.

I held on the line while I was passed off to the nurse so she could make arrangements for me to see my general surgeon -- the same one who removed my appendix.  I will see him next week for a pre-op appointment and to schedule the surgery.  The surgery should be laparoscopic and I assume it will be an outpatient procedure.  I expect it will be a couple days after the surgery before I hear the results.

The doctor suggested three possibilities for what the tumor could be:

1) Carcinoid tumor.
This tumor can be benign or malignant.  In about 10% of cases it secretes hormones which can make your body seem really "off"  (sound familiar?).  In order for the hormones to get into the bloodstream to cause changes, though, the tumor has to have metastasized to the liver.  This is a very slow growing tumor and is often missed.  The cancerous version does not respond well to treatments, but can sometimes be removed if caught early enough.

2) Lymphoma.
This would be bad.  It is cancer, of course.  It can be treated.  There are nearly 50 different versions of lymphoma and details partly depend on the version.

3) Desmoid tumor.
These tumors are malignant.  They can be very difficult to get rid of, however, and can cause a lot of damage to organs.  In many cases they recur.  It can be treated with surgeries, lots of watching, and perhaps radiation/chemo.

Personally I prefer option 4 -- a short stack of dimes.  Or perhaps a small Vienna sausage?  I mean, my body does strange things.  Why not be unusual in my tumor growth too?! 

I am nervous, of course.  However, I have a strong feeling of peace and know that I've been well taken care of for this to even have been discovered.  I know that somehow this will work out just fine.  I just really don't like waiting to find out how!

So now you know.  I'm sure I'll update when I have more information.  I appreciate prayers I know so many of you have been saying on my behalf.  We just gotta get through this next bit.