The good news is that over the past four weeks the 8mm pulmonary nodule that popped up last month has shrunk to 3mm (1/8"). As Dr Stone put it "Cancer doesn't shrink on it's own"
The fly in the ointment is that a new nodule 6mm (1/4") in size has made an appearance in close proximity to the other. Again, per Dr Stone, "Cancer rarely grows that fast". So what in the Sam Hill are they ? Best diagnosis of the Radiologist and the good doctor is they are likely related to an infectious or inflamatory process and "will need specific attention on follow-up exams". Lung infections and the inflamatory process of radiation therapy are well documented as I've had a goodly dose of both. A metastatic focus cannot be ruled out but is unlikely. All in all a solid B+ report card with more CT scans scheduled starting in November. Dodged another bullet...
The other bit of good news is that Dr Stone feels it's time to ween me off Prednisone, the steroid that's been aiding my breathing but also keeping me up half the night for the past month... I'm all for getting off this stuff ! Apparently going cold turkey is a no-no, so as a crutch to help my escape, I'm now loading Ipratropium and Albuterol into the nebulizer and instructed to hit it twice a day while slowly reducing the daily intake of steroid. Up until now I've been hitting that bong only as needed, usually on high humidity days, now it's mandatory. The cooler weather will help also.
It's going to be a good month as Avery will be 6 years old in a few days followed by my birthday...how old ??? Well, the Beatles wrote a song about it...and you'll be older too...
Have a great Autumn everyone and LIVESTRONG
Ken
