And now we wait

So, I finished meeting all my doctors today. First some good news, the Vascular Surgeon said according to the MRI and the CAT Scans, my leg which there was a concern would suffer some sort of permeate damage due to the tumor pressing up against the vessels, is going to be fine. There shouldn't be any long-term damage. It may take up to a year to bounce back but it will bounce back. It was kind of cool because it was the first time I got to actually see the MRI and CAT scans and see the tumor itself that is located in my pelvis cavity. There is no question, that bad boy is big.

Also, it looks like the date for my surgery has been made. Unfortunately the earliest they could get everything together is July 1st. I kind of have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I'm in no hurry to get cut into. The surgeon today reiterated that it is not going to be a pleasant recovery. On the other hand my leg hurts and I need to get this thing out of me. Also, we can't figure out what the next step is until we get this mass out of me.

For now, I am scheduled for some more test and prep work for the surgery.

No news is, well no news…

Well today was kind of a disappointing day. It all started with a wonderful MRI which was very reminiscent of the movie "The Incredibles" when they attempted to stuff Mr. Incredible into a tube to jettison him down onto the bad guy's island. Once they got me stuffed into the tube it was basically just a bunch of loud noises with me being told to hold my breath a lot. Good news is that should be the last test where I need to be stuck with a needle for a while. At least until the actual surgery.

I also met my Oncologist today. He is going to be the person who primarily takes over my treatment after the surgery. It was a very disappointing first visit mainly because we were really hoping to get a lot of questions answered by him that he is just not ready to answer at this point. Basically, he can't give us any new information until after the surgery. No idea on the exact type of Sarcoma, or if it is actually 100% Sarcoma, what treatment there is going to be, or what my quality of life is going to be.

It all hinges on the surgery, which is an issue in itself. Now, they want to include a Vascular Surgeon in on the process to address any issues they may have with the tumor and the arteries as well as fix any problems that the tumor may have caused to the arteries. This makes the total number of Surgeons in on the operation 3, and the process that much longer.

Over the next couple of days I will be meeting with the Vascular Surgeon as well as the Primary Surgeon. Then the 3 Surgeons need to get their schedules all lined up to actually perform the surgery.

So, there probably won't be much to update everyone with until Thursday night but if anything comes up I will be sure to post it.

And a new chapter begins

It's been so long since I've posted anything and I have had so many things to talk about. I just haven't had time. I was working on a presentation for the computer group I am a part of, the SDNUA and thinking about how I should be putting a lot of this information on my website. If I could just find the time to do it.

Sometimes life forces you to turn the page on what you are currently doing and start a new chapter. This is what has happened to my family and myself over the past week.

First off let me say, to my family and friends who I haven't had a chance to talk to yet, I apologize if this is the first time you are hearing this information. If I had my way I would have had long conversations with each and every one of you.

Today, I was officially diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Sarcoma. Right now I'm afraid there isn't that much information to relay. I have a baseball sized tumor in my pelvis that needs to be removed and the doctors are working on getting that surgery out of the way in the next couple of days. I know this is a lot of information and at the same time not a lot of information, unfortunately it’s really all I have right now. To give you a blow by blow (or needle poke by needle poke) of events over the past 7 days would take too long and it would be filled with a lot of worthless information. I just wanted to get what important information there was up on the site. And to let everyone know, as much as I can, I will keep the website updated with my progress.

I will make sure everyone stays up to date on my progress if you care to be. Please keep my family in your thoughts. And I will talk to you again very soon.