David "The Daring Little David" Puskás (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
megazero_to_superhero) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
animus_ooc2013-09-18 10:13 pm
megazero_to_superhero) wrote in animus_ooc2013-09-18 10:13 pm
Posting a proper slowatus this time ...
—as if I wasn't catatonic with my tagging already, but with recent events I need to make this official.
Okay, so. Last time I claimed I was in the clear for tagging I wound up having to fight an uphill battle to get a handle on my college classwork with all the other things going on. As of yesterday I'm in the clear for a bit, but things are not looking good for me health-wise.
A CT scan on the 11th revealed some pretty large masses consistent with lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) in my chest and neck. I've got this thing in the chest lymph cavity that's like a grapefruit-sized sheet draped over my heart.
I wasn't initially aware of the gravity of the situation until I was given a copy of the CT scan report today when I met with my internist for a follow-up. When I first got the results over the phone, I thought I only had some enlarged lymph nodes and a mass in my neck. I never even knew I had something so big in my chest.
Next week, I'm going to have a lot of appointments in between classes to get additional CT scans to check for any other tumors in my body, a pre-op, and then a biopsy (not the needle kind, they'll be putting me under and taking a piece of the neck mass out).
Until the biopsy, there's no telling what sort of lymphoma I may have, or if it even is lymphoma; I think it is, but the surgeon for my biopsy insists I'm putting the cart before the horse, and that even the masses in my case can be a lymphoma mimic. Lymphoma comes in dozens of varieties, and each has four different stages, which means that my potential prognosis can range from "we can zap this with a little radiation, cure it, and you'll return to a normal life" to "start writing a will, you have five, maybe ten years to live."
I'm trying to stay positive, and I'm not considering dropping from Tower of Animus because of this; even in the worst case scenarios I think I'll live long enough to see the endgame through. I just want people to be aware that if I do tag into threads, I may not have the time to respond right away.
This also goes for the tags I've owed; I'm going to try and respond to them tonight. I should be able to do some threading, but it will be intermittent due to my class-heavy Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the next wave of coursework + hospital appointments next week. I'm really sorry I've kept stringing you guys along with my activity issues ... I'm hoping I'll have some smoother sailing before long.
Okay, so. Last time I claimed I was in the clear for tagging I wound up having to fight an uphill battle to get a handle on my college classwork with all the other things going on. As of yesterday I'm in the clear for a bit, but things are not looking good for me health-wise.
A CT scan on the 11th revealed some pretty large masses consistent with lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) in my chest and neck. I've got this thing in the chest lymph cavity that's like a grapefruit-sized sheet draped over my heart.
I wasn't initially aware of the gravity of the situation until I was given a copy of the CT scan report today when I met with my internist for a follow-up. When I first got the results over the phone, I thought I only had some enlarged lymph nodes and a mass in my neck. I never even knew I had something so big in my chest.
Next week, I'm going to have a lot of appointments in between classes to get additional CT scans to check for any other tumors in my body, a pre-op, and then a biopsy (not the needle kind, they'll be putting me under and taking a piece of the neck mass out).
Until the biopsy, there's no telling what sort of lymphoma I may have, or if it even is lymphoma; I think it is, but the surgeon for my biopsy insists I'm putting the cart before the horse, and that even the masses in my case can be a lymphoma mimic. Lymphoma comes in dozens of varieties, and each has four different stages, which means that my potential prognosis can range from "we can zap this with a little radiation, cure it, and you'll return to a normal life" to "start writing a will, you have five, maybe ten years to live."
I'm trying to stay positive, and I'm not considering dropping from Tower of Animus because of this; even in the worst case scenarios I think I'll live long enough to see the endgame through. I just want people to be aware that if I do tag into threads, I may not have the time to respond right away.
This also goes for the tags I've owed; I'm going to try and respond to them tonight. I should be able to do some threading, but it will be intermittent due to my class-heavy Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the next wave of coursework + hospital appointments next week. I'm really sorry I've kept stringing you guys along with my activity issues ... I'm hoping I'll have some smoother sailing before long.
no subject
Very belated, but I really hope that everything turns out for the best.
no subject
I do have some good news now that the CT scans on Monday were complete; they found no additional masses in my body, nor signs of cancerous metastasis. I think this means that if I am diagnosed with cancer, it'll be Stage II of some kind.
As far as I know that's still in the "good odds" zone for most lymphomas, but curing or even surviving this is nowhere near assured. If they can't get rid of it, all I can do is hope I last long enough for new treatments to get FDA approval (there's been some amazing strides in medical research in the past decade).
no subject