Slight change in plans...

I got a call from the surgeon on Wed. afternoon. She's gone thru all of the CT scans, and thinks the tumour she's seeing is not consistent with lung cancer (ultimately, we'll have to wait for the histology report, so they can find out what it is). It's probably benign tumour growth. The slight change in plans is that one of her patients cancelled, and I'll probably be having the surgery Thursday. It should be 1.5 -2 hrs long, with a "wedge" of my right lung removed by scope. In the event she can't find it with the scope, she will go in by hand if she has to, but not anticipated. The surgery is being performed at St. Joseph's in Hamilton, and isn't far the Juravinski Cancer Center. I should be in over night, and off work about 1 month. Thanks again for all your prayers.

Brief update after consult with surgeon...

Hi all -

Connie & I met with the thoracic surgeon today. We were supposed to have a date set today for surgery, but a series of gaffes ended up making any kind of date for surgery impossible. The regular clinic forgot to order a copy of the original scan from Cambridge Hospital, the consult clinic forgot to mention anything about needing a copy of the scan, and Cambridge hospital when contacted initially refused to burn a CD of the scan immediately - they said they were busy with other stuff, and might get around to putting it into the mail in a week or two. I say "initially" because the surgeon called back, and after a few words, it seems she might have it in her hands (the scan copy that is) by next Wed. The surgeon cannot book a surgery date without verifying which procedure needs to be done.

In spite of not having the scan in front of her, she went over the most likely scenario for treatment. Provided the scans match what's in the report, I'll most likely have a "wedge" of lung removed by scope. The operation would most likely be 1.5hrs, and home the next day or two, with about 4 weeks off work. Again, this is assuming that once she sees the scan, it matches the report. I was unaware however that the tumour has grown from about the size of a quarter, to about the size of a small golf ball. The surgeon believes that this is probably teratoma, which is benevolent tumour material left over from the chemo treatment. They won't know for sure however until the histology report (stick it under a microscope).

Hopefully we'll have a date for surgery soon - I'm kinda' thinking it'll probably be mid-to-late February. Thanks again for all the prayer support -

Chris, Connie & Crystal

Surgeon Consult

Hi all -

Just a quick note to say we finally got a consult date with the thoracic surgeon: Wed. Jan. 21/09. That's when we find out the surgery date, expected recovery time, and timeframe for the pathology report on the excised tissue findings. We'll update more as we get it.

Umm.. update for family/friends

Hi all -

There's been another update to my health status as of my last check-up at the cancer center. Apparently, the spot on my lung hasn't been getting any smaller (it may be getting just slightly larger), so they're recommending removal. They'll be taking out the top lobe of my right lung as a precaution. As was explained to me, one of 3 things should happen to the spot on my lung after chemo: i) it disappears, ii) it turns into scar tissue and shrinks slightly and gradually, iii) some rogue cells left behind after chemo may turn pre-cancerous, or into another form of cancer called teratoma (which I'm told is highly treatable). They honestly don't know the exact size or nature of the spot, so they're going to remove it as a precaution ('when in doubt, cut it out' as they say...).

I have to wait for a consult with the thoracic surgeon from St. Joseph's in Hamilton (hopefully next Wed.), at which time she will book my surgery date (I'll probably be on the operating table in the next 3-6 weeks). The recovery time is expected to be 6-8 weeks.
The good news in all this is that: i) The progosis is really good, ii) all the cancer markers from the blood test came back negative, which means no chemo at this time. Dr. Neville (oncologiest says that if this was one of his family, the first place he would send them is St. Joseph's, so I guess I'm in great hands.

Unfortunately, we don't have many more answers right now. I just got the news on Tues. afternoon, and the results from the marker test this morning - but we'll keep you updated as info. comes in. I'm still planning to continue with the distance-ed classes; it'll be nice to keep occupied with something else... 8)

Anyways, we appreciate everybody's prayer support as always --

Love,

Chris, Connie & Crystal

Donnelly Family Pics

Donnelly and Ronald Family Picture: Saturday, Jan.3, 2009

Things change...

Well, a couple of changes have happened: Crystal decided to do a Rambo over her crib. We found her in her room (thankfully the door was closed). Connie put Crystal back in, and asked her to do it again so we could see how she did it - clever girl. Hence she now has a day-bed (thanks to ikea convertible furniture).

On another note for those who may not have been aware, our laptop died. A friend of ours took a look and said either the motherboard or video have died, and may not be worth fixing. So Conn and I are typing this up on an old desktop (p3) that we were using as a backup (interestingly, the internet didn't even work on it until the day the laptop died). So please forgive us if we're a little slow responding to emails and such - the thing is dreadfully slow, and we can't afford a replacement just yet.

Connie and I are both back to school Monday, Jan.5. Conn is near her mid-term for accounting (PT), and I'm just starting back at UW (PT). Also, Marg (Conn's Mom) is going back to school for an accounting specialty. Couple this with Greg going to seminary, and I think the Ronald and Donnelly families are gonna be kept pretty busy!

Donnelly family pics are done - see next post!