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Hi all,
Well, folks. It looks like the fat lady missed her cue, and came out on the stage at the end of the first act. She should have waited in the wings until the end of the opera!
The pathology lab has reported. It's "leiomyosarcoma." For short, call it LMS.
What's LMS? Here's what I've learned after a short visit to the library. A sarcoma is a growth in specific tissues. The prefix tells what kind of tissue is involved. There are involuntary "smooth" muscle tissues throughout the body. These are muscle tissues that you cannot move by thinking about them. Blood vessels as well as other organs have these tissues. LMS is a very rare form of cancer. It's a growth in the involuntary "smooth" muscle tissue. In my case it is thought to have originated in the blood vessels surrounding the motor nerve in my left leg just below the knee.
In general, sarcomas are apparently best treated by surgically removing the growth, plus removing a bit of the surrounding tissue to make sure that none of the sarcoma cells have been missed. If one is missed, the growth can regenerate. Sarcomas, in general, don't respond well to chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
Sarcomas might be metastasized cancers from some other primary site in the body, so additional tests may be needed to ascertain whether cancers exist elsewhere. The information on the LMS web site recommends finding an oncologist (cancer doctor) who specializes in sarcomas, at least for a consulting opinion.
For those interested in more information, visit http://www.leiomyosarcoma.org.
What does all that mean? In a word, BUMMERS! It is not a benign tumor. Since it's invading surrounding tissues, it's considered malignant. At this point it means that that two surgeries on the same spot in 10 days are not enough. I wouldn't be surprised if a third surgery is required, and that a portion of the motor nerve will be removed in that surgery.
I have an appointment in Gainsville, Florida, on Monday afternoon. The appointment is with a neurosurgeon, one of the top in the country specializing in peripheral nerves. He will be alerted to the diagnosis, so will be consulting with an orthopedic oncologist (a guy who specializes in cancers in the limbs). The consulting orthopedic oncologist is also one of the top in the country. My hope is to come away with a clear recommendation for treatment.
At this point I feel that I'm in the hands of the top people in the medical profession for dealing with this. But that doesn't stop my mind from going crazy with all the possibilities. I guess I'll have to wait until Monday afternoon to lay all those random thoughts to rest and focus on a single path to follow.
For what it's worth, when I said I was planning to milk this for all the sympathy I could get, I didn't mean for it to go this far.
All for now. I'll report again, probably Tuesday evening after I get back from Gainsville.
Keep your warm fuzzies aimed in my direction.
Fair winds,
Capt. Edmund "Bear" Downing.
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