So I'm at Sloan right now and Mom's still in recovery. I will see her in about 20-30 minutes and we will be home in 2-3 hours. After recovery they want to do an x-ray to make sure that everything's where it should be before they send her home.
I spoke to Dr. Park, the doctor who performed the bronchoscopy, and he said that Mom did very well in surgery and that they were able to remove part of the tumor blocking the upper lobe of her right lung (don't I sound so medically knowledgeable?). He also found some specks on her trachea that he said would probably have developed into cancer so he lasered those suckers and they are OUTTA THERE.
He decided to insert a stent just outside the upper right lobe in order to prevent the cancer from expanding into the lower right lung or elsewhere (something which would result once again in labored breathing). I asked him about the possibility of stent migration and he said the chances are very slim because the airways just below where the stent resides are smaller than the stent itself, and stents tend to migrate downstream, so we should be good.
He said she may cough up some mucous and blood today, but said that's totally normal. She should be fine for radiation tomorrow morning.
The neck pain has been pretty excruciating today and I'm a little worried because she hasn't eaten since midnight (surgeon's orders) and hasn't taken pain medication since about 11am, so basically she will come out of recovery hungry and in pain - not fun! But hopefully we can take care of both issues right away. The radiation hasn't exactly kicked in yet, but the nurses I've talked to say that it usually takes a few treatments, so I'm hopeful that she will be in way way less pain by the weekend.
I spoke to Dr. Park, the doctor who performed the bronchoscopy, and he said that Mom did very well in surgery and that they were able to remove part of the tumor blocking the upper lobe of her right lung (don't I sound so medically knowledgeable?). He also found some specks on her trachea that he said would probably have developed into cancer so he lasered those suckers and they are OUTTA THERE.
He decided to insert a stent just outside the upper right lobe in order to prevent the cancer from expanding into the lower right lung or elsewhere (something which would result once again in labored breathing). I asked him about the possibility of stent migration and he said the chances are very slim because the airways just below where the stent resides are smaller than the stent itself, and stents tend to migrate downstream, so we should be good.
He said she may cough up some mucous and blood today, but said that's totally normal. She should be fine for radiation tomorrow morning.
The neck pain has been pretty excruciating today and I'm a little worried because she hasn't eaten since midnight (surgeon's orders) and hasn't taken pain medication since about 11am, so basically she will come out of recovery hungry and in pain - not fun! But hopefully we can take care of both issues right away. The radiation hasn't exactly kicked in yet, but the nurses I've talked to say that it usually takes a few treatments, so I'm hopeful that she will be in way way less pain by the weekend.
5 comments:
sending love love and and prayers to you both!
Thank you so much for this Sarah.
It sounds like Janet is getting absolutely top notch care.
And it's fabulous you are there with her.
Please send her masses of love.
And also to you, Jennifer, and Clancy.
We love you Janet!
Thanks so so much for the update....
malachy and heather and grady
Wow, sounds complicated to the layman but shows that Janet is in really good hands and that they're doing everything they have to, which is really really great.
Thanks for updating us on top of everything else.
Sending love and best wishes to Janet and a big hug to you,
Christian & Jutta
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