Eric with a C

Well folks, the time approaches. Although not totally light and airy, it's not horrible either. I've got dates set for the ray amputation of my leftmost most offensive finger. The world will be a better place. :) I'd tell you to set your DVRs but I'm pretty sure the surgery won't be on broadcast networks or cable. It's still going down though. November 15th. It is the same day that back in 1492 Christopher Columbus notes the first recorded reference to tobacco (speaking of cancer, kids, don't smoke or chew). Also in 1904, King C Gillette patented the Gillette razor blade (I don't know if he also invented or made scalpels...). But that's not all! On November 15th in 1960, the USS George Washington, the 1st sub with nuclear ballistic missiles, launched. To top it all off, it's also the day, in 1969, that Wendy's Hamburgers opened. Now add Eric getting a finger lopped off to the list in 2010. I say "lopped off" which really is quite cr...

I'm a little late in posting this but here's what's been going on... Those questions that we've been compiling were mostly answered back on Monday afternoon when I was able to talk with my doc on the phone. The bottom line at this point is that what I'd suspected and been preparing for (the finger being taken off) is the consensus not just with Dr Adler and Dr Lewis, but with every other person with cancer experience that has been asked. I'm blessed to have very gracious and concerned friends and family who have made inquiries all over the place to see what other professionals and friends with experience think and all the replies have confirmed that taking off the primary location of the cancer offers the best chance of killing the disease before it gets out of hand. With that being said, of course there still aren't any guarantees, just probabilities. It's a somewhat somber reminder that despite all the stunning advances in medicine and science, there i...

Hello! Brea here this time. I'm typing up a list of questions to ask the doctor. We just want to be sure that we fully understand the situation as best as we can before actually beginning any treatment plan. We are pretty sure that we will be proceeding with the radial amputation but again we just want to be thorough that we have asked all the questions we can so that our decision is as informed as possible. I mean who really wants to set an appt to "give cancer the finger". So this is what I have right now, I'm sure there are other and better ones to ask but I can't think right now so I thought I would seek help from whoever is willing to offer it. Based on what you know from following our blog, which is pretty much everything we know, what questions would you ask, or in the case of some of mine, ask again? I know that some of mine are kinda stupid or redundant but I would rather look stupid to one of the best doctors in the world than not have the peace of ...

...as it turns out, my tumor is too. :D I got a call from Dr Lewis again on Thursday afternoon and she let me know that after that review back on Tuesday they're still not 100% what to call my sarcoma, other than sarcoma. She said it showed more of the characteristics of low-grade sarcoma but apparently was throwing them for a loop on the precise diagnosis. In retrospect, I should have asked what characteristics made it so ambiguous but I should be able to call back and ask. But here's the kicker: I apparently have two options for treatment at this point with a third that is often suggested by us non MDs but probably better in theory than actuality. It sounds like the Dr Lewis was still leaning towards just doing the ray amputation because it's the safest option overall in regards to cutting off (no pun intended) the source of this low-grade(?) but still nasty cancer. However , she did say another option at this point would simply be "close observation" which I su...

Hey there friends and family! So you know that good news you've all been waiting for? I think some of it came in more officially just a few minutes ago... Dr Lewis called and said that the pathology of the tumor that they (MDA) performed seems to suggest that the diagnosis be downgraded from synovial sarcoma to a low-grade sarcoma (less aggressive). The implications of this for that finger are still not clear because it was found at the margins of the biopsy (the tumor that was cut out) but with all things considered, it's still great news. So what's going to happen next is that Dr Lewis is going to go to a sarcoma conference tomorrow and maybe call Dr House (I kid) to confer with her fellow associates and (I'm pretty confidently assuming) experts in their fields. She may call me back late tomorrow, I may call Wednesday, it all depends on what all may happen with the conference and some other lab that is coming in that I forgot to ask about. So needless to say Brea and ...

This is just a quick update because we actually haven't heard back from the doctor yet. I did, however, get the MRI report and disc of images. Without a medical eye for this, I have no idea what this actually means but it sure sounds good! Here are the "impression(s)" from each of the reports I have so far: Ultrasound - Unremarkable left upper extremity ultrasound without evidence of pathologic adenopathy or mass. X-ray - Negative chest CT - No evidence of metastatic disease MRI - Presumed post-surgical changes with no definite residual disease. It would seem that this means that my condition is not very advanced which would be fantastic... but this isn't official word from the docs so I'm not holding my breath. :) Still, with nothing jumping out with alarm bells, I can't help but think that prayers are being answered. So maybe we'll hear from MDA Monday, maybe... either way I'm not worried. It's the weekend baby yeah!

Yessiree, it's me again. Yesterday involved a rocket-run back to MD Anderson for the last piece of the diagnostic puzzle for now (Lord-willing). That MRI that's been talked about everywhere (aka, this blog) finally happened. At my very first MRI I have to say it was pretty much what I was told it would be and aside from my arm falling asleep on a first pass and my neck cramping on another, it was pretty cool. There was the jackhammer, the nuclear meltdown warning honk, the whale song clicks, and what I think was the machine playing duck-duck-goose without ever getting to said goose. I got in at 4:15p to check in and by 4:30p they had me in scrubs and waiting to get the IV line in. I lost track of time after that because of all the magnetic stuff going on, I couldn't bring my phone or watch with. National Geographic is an awesome magazine by the way. It'd be fun to get some photos in there actually. Perhaps I'll get to working on that... Anyhow, I finally got called ...

Since I last posted the main thing that's happened medically is the ultrasound of my left shoulder and upper arm areas. It was pretty cool actually. The monitor showed what looked like a moonscape at times and I could see strands of glands and sheets of tissue and muscle and whatnot. Maybe I'll be able to get copies of those images and show you what I mean. But yes, that has been the extent of progress to this point. Coming up tomorrow is the next bit of fun, the MRI. This'll be a first for me and as the comedian Stephen Wright has said, "I'm gonna have an MRI to find out whether or not I have claustrophobia." Well that and whether or not there's any sign of cancer in the more important parts of me. :) While trying to find out anything more about the timeline of things post-MRI, I sent in an email to the docs and got the folllowing reply: " I spoke with Kristi, Dr. Lewis' PA and we are not going to schedule you for a follow up appointment at this...

Chik Fil A that is. Which is what we just picked up for dinner as we head back to Austin for a few days. We don't have too much to update on the medical part of this situation but I'm feeling a little chatty (or shall I say typy) so I'm gonna expand on how God is taking care of us through this time after a brief update on the current diagnostic status. Eric had his upper arm ultrasound yesterday and the tech told him that she didn't see anything. While that is pretty much an unofficial statement we were happy to hear it. We were not able to get his next test, an upper extremity MRI, scheduled until next Tuesday so we decided to head back home for a few days. Since we won't get to hear any official results or discuss treatment plans until all tests have been done and reviewed we are still pretty much just in a discovery and waiting stage. We are hoping that we will get a call about results on next Wed so we can finally know the fullness of this situation but w...