Welcome back to the next Thriving Not Just surviving blog post!
This is written by Maureen as Greg is still recovering. Last week was supposed to be a week "normal" week, with a routine scan and follow up with Greg's oncologist. Wednesday Greg went in for his 4-month chest scan, a routine scan to check on the cancer. For the last year he has gone every 3 months with stable results and we were excited to "graduate" to 4 months. On Thursday we had a follow up scheduled with his oncologist to check in and find out the results.
Wednesday evening Greg was walking Penny (our Beagle puppy) by our town home and had a seizure on the sidewalk. I wasn't at home at the time and received the call that he had a seizure and was being loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. My world was rocked. It always is. It doesn't matter how many times we've been through this; it is always devastating and hard to process. The next few hours passed as he was transferred and I waited to be admitted to the ER to see him (COVID rules required I wait). He didn't have another seizure, which is always our primary concern and he didn't injure his shoulder which is our secondary concern He had scrapes on his head and his knuckles were bloody and torn up from his seizure on the sidewalk. A CT scan of his head showed that he didn't have a concussion or bleeding in the brain, thankfully. We were discharged around 11pm to rest and sort through what had just happened.
We had the oncology appointment scheduled for the next day, and we were trying to figure out if Greg could make it to the appointment. Post seizure, it takes a few days for Greg's head to clear, for him to sleep it off, and for his body to recover from the excruciating muscle pain due to the violent contractions. Greg was able to attend his appointment. We were hoping the appointment would only be about 60 minutes so he could return home and rest. The appointment was over 2.5 hours. His doctor closely listened to the details of the previous 16 hours, I could tell he was quite concerned. He went on to say explain that Greg's scan indicated that the cancer was growing as shown in the lymph nodes in his chest that were enlarged. He suggested we start treatment. Since we had previously discussed what our next treatment options would be when the cancer started growing again it was a simple decision. (Simple not easy). with Greg's cancer it is not "if" the cancer starts growing again, it is "when". We have always known this, we have been through this before, but it is always hard to hear, always hard to process. I'm sure the previous 24 hours' events did not help my already fragile emotions hear what was being said by the oncologist as we began discussing treatment.
Upon physical examination from his doctor (listening to his heart, lungs and checking the lymph nodes for swelling) the doctor found an enlarged lymph node in the neck that was not caught on the chest scan. The chest scan stops at the neck and this lymph node sat higher, in the neck area. This lymph node, which will be biopsied and a brain MRI will hopefully give us more information.
At this time, a clinical trial is what we are pursuing for treatment. It it a targeted treatment, which means it "targets" the specific "RET" mutation in the cancer, instead of killing everything like chemo does. Greg's mutation is rare and we haven't had the opportunity to have this type of treatment before. We hope to know more in the coming weeks as Greg has more tests done and hopefully start treatment soon.
On a positive note, Greg's long-awaited YouTube channel has launched! Click here! Please like, subscribe and share! It has been a labor of love. It has provided him with such a positive focus over the last few months as he has shot many content videos. His is the genius behind the content and I am the editor! We enjoy being able to collaborate on this project! It is Greg's hope that his channel can reach many audience. He wants to reach those who have an interest in computers and technology. He hopes to reach other cancer and epilepsy patients struggling with daily life, medications and diagnoses. He will shed light on how technology assists in the medical field.
Thank you for your outpouring of love and support. Keep it coming. Know of our prayers for all of you, to keep healthy and safe and connected to those you love.
