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Oh oh oh!
Forgot to mention this earlier and it kind of needs it's own post anyway. I remember telling Mom, right about when I gave her my last 2 percocet and said "I don't need them anymore and someone else has been taking them, get them out of here!" (I have a suspicion who was taking them ... I am not pleased and for more reasons than while everyone knows certain visitors often go through their medications, actually taking the medication they find is going a little far!) It seems I also forgot to mention this to Mathew (he is currently a little hurt by this) but it really did slip my mind.
Mr. Lumpy was last measured at 2.2-2.5 centimeters (depending on which angle they took the measurement from) and had grown (not angle dependent this time. Both angles showed the same) approximately 0.2 centimeters over the past 1.5-2 years. This math puts my acquisition of Mr. Lumpy at somewhere around 11 years ago. That is of course assuming a steady rate of growth, which is not terribly likely (or so I am told) which puts the probable window for Mr. Lumpy taking up residence anywhere from 5-20 years ago.
Here is where it get really interesting.
I have had acid reflux since I was 15 years old. I have had random inexplicable shoulder pain since I was 17. I was Diagnosed with Chiari Malformation nearly 3 years ago at which point the reflux and the shoulder pain as well as the numb hands and feet and random pain in all of my limbs I had been experiencing since about age 20 was chalked up to Chiari. It made sense. These are Chiari symptoms. Especially the headache that never leaves and only gets worse, the hand/feet pain/numbness and the occasional bout of temporary paralysis that worsens in both frequency and degree over time.
Except, both acid reflux and shoulder pain are also both symptoms of cancer and with the shoulder pain specifically, a symptom of lung cancer.
Somewhere around the middle of radiation the shoulder pain went away. Completely. I can grasp my hands behind my back again. With NO pain where as previously I couldn't lift my arm to shoulder height. Added to this, I can also feel my fingers again which is both really cool and really disturbing all at the same time. Relearning these concepts of hot and cold has been a bit startling. I almost miss being able to reach into the oven and pull out the pans that have been in there, baking, for a few hours and when I picked up an ice cube a few weeks ago and it was cold it kind of scared me. On the plus side I can hold a paint brush again and doodle and paint and write with a normal pen again.
The paralysis continues, no surprise there.
I need to make this perfectly clear right now, I am not taking this as a sign that a "cure" has been achieved. I knew going in that while intending to treat for a cure was the plan, it is far more likely that a reduction in tumor size is the only positive outcome. Equally as likely is no change at all. I am not taking this as a sign that Mr. Lumpy got any smaller either. Maybe, for the time being growth has been slowed and thus the easing of the shoulder pain and perhaps the proper function of my hands.
What I am taking this as a possible sign of is the possible time frame for the acquisition of Mr. Lumpy is much, MUCH closer to 20 years ago.
I wasn't joking when I said he had been here for a loooong time and that I planned to be here for a long time to come, Mr. Lumpy continuing to reside with me or no. I see zero reason I can't expect another 20 or more years even if the combination of radiation and chemo does not achieve a cure. They are not my only options, just the logical first step. I have the next two treatments to explore already lined up. Of course I am hoping they won't be needed, but one of them makes sense to adopt simply as a lifestyle choice. If it does end up working, I will be spreading that news far and wide at every opportunity, of that I can assure you.
So, since finding out the shoulder pain is gone (which I still can't believe I didn't tell him. He'd noticed the feeling in my hand returning all on his own) has Mathew feeling a bit better about me returning to somewhat normal after treatment, I thought I would put it out there for anyone else who might find it promising. Also puts things in a much less urgent time frame, stage 3 is still not a good point to be diagnosed in, at the same time (theory backed up by my oncologists here), the progress of Mr. Lumpy being as slow as it has been is incredibly promising.
Mr. Lumpy was last measured at 2.2-2.5 centimeters (depending on which angle they took the measurement from) and had grown (not angle dependent this time. Both angles showed the same) approximately 0.2 centimeters over the past 1.5-2 years. This math puts my acquisition of Mr. Lumpy at somewhere around 11 years ago. That is of course assuming a steady rate of growth, which is not terribly likely (or so I am told) which puts the probable window for Mr. Lumpy taking up residence anywhere from 5-20 years ago.
Here is where it get really interesting.
I have had acid reflux since I was 15 years old. I have had random inexplicable shoulder pain since I was 17. I was Diagnosed with Chiari Malformation nearly 3 years ago at which point the reflux and the shoulder pain as well as the numb hands and feet and random pain in all of my limbs I had been experiencing since about age 20 was chalked up to Chiari. It made sense. These are Chiari symptoms. Especially the headache that never leaves and only gets worse, the hand/feet pain/numbness and the occasional bout of temporary paralysis that worsens in both frequency and degree over time.
Except, both acid reflux and shoulder pain are also both symptoms of cancer and with the shoulder pain specifically, a symptom of lung cancer.
Somewhere around the middle of radiation the shoulder pain went away. Completely. I can grasp my hands behind my back again. With NO pain where as previously I couldn't lift my arm to shoulder height. Added to this, I can also feel my fingers again which is both really cool and really disturbing all at the same time. Relearning these concepts of hot and cold has been a bit startling. I almost miss being able to reach into the oven and pull out the pans that have been in there, baking, for a few hours and when I picked up an ice cube a few weeks ago and it was cold it kind of scared me. On the plus side I can hold a paint brush again and doodle and paint and write with a normal pen again.
The paralysis continues, no surprise there.
I need to make this perfectly clear right now, I am not taking this as a sign that a "cure" has been achieved. I knew going in that while intending to treat for a cure was the plan, it is far more likely that a reduction in tumor size is the only positive outcome. Equally as likely is no change at all. I am not taking this as a sign that Mr. Lumpy got any smaller either. Maybe, for the time being growth has been slowed and thus the easing of the shoulder pain and perhaps the proper function of my hands.
What I am taking this as a possible sign of is the possible time frame for the acquisition of Mr. Lumpy is much, MUCH closer to 20 years ago.
I wasn't joking when I said he had been here for a loooong time and that I planned to be here for a long time to come, Mr. Lumpy continuing to reside with me or no. I see zero reason I can't expect another 20 or more years even if the combination of radiation and chemo does not achieve a cure. They are not my only options, just the logical first step. I have the next two treatments to explore already lined up. Of course I am hoping they won't be needed, but one of them makes sense to adopt simply as a lifestyle choice. If it does end up working, I will be spreading that news far and wide at every opportunity, of that I can assure you.
So, since finding out the shoulder pain is gone (which I still can't believe I didn't tell him. He'd noticed the feeling in my hand returning all on his own) has Mathew feeling a bit better about me returning to somewhat normal after treatment, I thought I would put it out there for anyone else who might find it promising. Also puts things in a much less urgent time frame, stage 3 is still not a good point to be diagnosed in, at the same time (theory backed up by my oncologists here), the progress of Mr. Lumpy being as slow as it has been is incredibly promising.
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