Final pathology finally got back from Stanford yesterday. And today happened to also be my post-op appointment with my surgeon. When the tumor was removed they were sure it was a GIST -- gastro-intestinal stromal tumor. We spent weeks believing this to be the truth. Over and over they assured us that all we were waiting for was details on how bad it was. We had arrangements made to get an appointment with a good oncologist. We knew the options for treatment and understood the best and worst case scenarios. Then pathology still wasn't back. And then they requested the rest of my slides. And we kept waiting.
Finally we got answers today. The GIST is not a GIST. Instead it is a benign fibromatosis. Benign being the key word here. It is NOT cancer!!!!!
Fibromatosis is the new name for what was once called a desmoid tumor. This is one of the things that was initially suggested as a possibility of what was growing in my belly. Being benign it does not metastasize - meaning that it does not send off mean cells to grow more tumors elsewhere. It is a localized tumor. Fibromatosis is considered an aggressive tumor because it can grow into other things and make them cranky (like intestines). It is also possible for more to show up later. But not such a high likelihood that there's a need to keep an eye on it in any special way. Basically if I ever develop symptoms of another mass they'd look into it and if another one showed up they'd do surgery again. Not a big deal, though. Not cancer.
I'm still in pain. I spent most of Sunday in the ER for severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, etc. They checked into everything closely. It looks like I have a partial or early small bowel obstruction/distention. Perhaps an ileus -- a sleepy bit of bowel after all the medications, anesthesia, surgeries, etc. It should work itself out, but in the mean time I'm sticking to a pretty cautious diet, moving as much as possible, and keeping a close eye on things. If the pain doesn't work itself out they said they'd have to admit me (no thank you!!!) for pain control and to watch more closely in case there's a hidden abscess or something, which is the danger they're worried about. I think the incision is healing really well. I think I just need to give my body a chance to heal with enough activity to keep things moving the right direction.
While we were never worried about this being a danger to my life there has been plenty of concern over lifestyle, I guess you could call it. Would our next weeks, months, or perhaps longer be interrupted by more doctor's appointments, medication with awful side effects, or worse? Would I need to be an armchair-mother for another indeterminate period of time? Having this positive lab result has taken a huge weight off our shoulders. It will still be a few more weeks before I'm truly recovered from this surgery. But I *will* recover and this will be done. We can move on from this without having to keep one eye over our shoulder.
I know that much, if not all, of this good news can be attributed directly to the Lord's hand in my life. I have had a priesthood blessing which immediately removed all our fears for the worst. I have had so many family members and friends who have prayed for me and my family and fasted for us as well. My case is being presented this week to the Tumor Conference as a caution against over-diagnosing GISTs. I think that the real lesson, however, is that the Lord still performs miracles. Even for me.
1 comment:
WAHOO!!!!!
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