The Next Mountain to Climb

Kristi had her video call with the Stanford Sarcoma specialist this afternoon; the discussion was quite encouraging. Three things are important to note and share. First, everything she told Kristi will be shared with and confirmed by a team of doctors after a few more scans and tests.  Second,  the doctor is calling the tumor grade 1, which is the lowest (most favorable) grade. She thinks that what appears to be the swollen lymph node may actually be the primary tumor. It is in a very usual location for lieomayosarcoma and adjacent to lymph nodes, which can be confusing. She thinks that a surgeon can get in there and remove the tumor, possibly eradicating the cancer completely.  Third, she thinks, based on her review of Kristi’s past tests, that the back pain may simply be a ruptured disk in her lower back (which the Fresno doctor saw but said shouldn’t be causing her that much pain). She is going to consult with a Stanford back orthopedist but hopes that a simple surgery...

Well, buckle up for the next adventure. We finally received results from the biopsy that Kristi had done 11 days ago ... a prolonged review of the pathology is never a good sign. They found something that even her doctors seemed very surprised to find. The swollen lymph nodes in her abdomen (near her back) are not lymphoma at all, but yet another type of cancer called Lieomyosarcoma (in addition to Lymphoma; lymphoma is still there, but not a concern as it continues to be relatively stable).  Yes ... we were again shocked beyond belief. In fact, today seems like it’s been a week long.  After recovering from the shock and surprise yourself, you too probably have questions. We don’t have more information yet. Lieomyosarcoma has its own “sub categories” and those have yet to be determined. Nor has any stage been determined. Kristi will likely be scanned and prodded more than she’d like over the next few weeks. She has been referred to the Stanford doctors who handle this kind of ...

Hi All, just wanted to give you all a brief update. Kristi has been doing quite well for the last year and a half except for the nebulous back pain. It’s been getting slowly and progressively worse; she’s been on some big pain meds to cope. We went back to a Stanford last week to meet a new doctor who is taking over for the previous doctor who moved to a new specialty. This new doctor wants to get a biopsy of some lymph nodes in Kristi’s abdomen in order to determine if their recent enlargement is due to the lymphoma or not (very likely the answer is yes, but they want to be sure). This may determine whether some type of treatment, chemo or radiation, may need to be done. Bottom line ... the lymphoma, based on all scans, seems to be holding steady mostly (as they thought it would). The cause of her pain is mysterious. We will go up Thursday so she can get a COVID test so she can have the biopsy procedure on Friday. We will give another update as son as we have anything new to share, wh...