My latest appointment.

It's finally December 15th which meant today was our follow-up consult with Dr. JM (oncology surgeon).  Tim, Alayna and Jeremy were all with me to hear what the doctor had to say.  Dr. JM said that he had reviewed all the results from my tests this week, as as it appears, the tumor has not changed in size, spread elsewhere, etc.  My lungs and other vital organs are still clear.  He stated that I will most likely need to have my spleen removed when they remove the tumor and a small portion of the tail of my pancreas.  We talked about some risks associated with surgery, but overall Dr. JM is very optimistic about the prognosis.  We were able to set up a surgery date which will be January 6th.  That is just 3 weeks away.  Since the mass hasn't appeared to have changed in the past 2 months, we are at this point not worried about the wait.  The doctor also says that we will not be able to determine need for any aftercare until the tumor is removed, and it's cell content can be examined.  The overall hope is that once it is removed, we will not need to do any form of treatment.

Although it means waiting even longer for an end to this ordeal, I am thrilled with everything the doctor had to say.  We all felt that this was the most encouraging appointment yet.  Also, this interim wait gives Tim and I the opportunity to return to ND for Christmas as we had initially planned.   I cannot wait to be home to celebrate the holidays with so many of those I love, especially this year.  We have so many blessings to be thankful for.

As always, thank you, everyone for all the prayers, cards, kind words, etc.  For many of you, I look forward to seeing you in just about a week.  Again, please put all comments on this wall or in my inbox on Facebook.