January 2014 - The CT Scan

Yep - It's a tumor

After my GI MD ordered a CT, he called me within a few days. There was a sense of urgency in his voice. He told me that he was transferring care to my oncologist, Dr Terebelo (Dr T). He also wanted to stay informed.

Dr T and I have a good relationship. He was surprised the first day I walked into his office without a referral. He wanted to know how I picked him out of the phone book. No need to go into that now. He eventually started calling me Father John. When I got my Dmin I tried to get him to change the reference to "Father Dr John" but he never got use to it so I dropped it. He was chosen as a Top Doc in Michigan over several years.

The CT scan was pretty obvious. There was a good size tumor, approximate 15 cm. Dr T suggested just a biopsy at first to determine the type of cancer. He absolutely refused to speculate as to its type. He said two things that struck home, 1) "I have not seen a patient who survived a peripheral stem cell transplant for 17 years have his/her can return. We tend to view those patients as 'cured.' " 2) "If the mass was something other than your previous cancer or a related cancer, you would be experiencing more severe symptoms."

The surgeon, Dr Parkih, advocated for the removal of the tumor, followed by chemo. He believed that the cancer was involved with the intestine. If so, the cancer shrinks faster than new cell formation causing a leakage. He would then have to have conduct more extensive surgery.

These conversation took place in early January. Surgery was scheduled for the 23th.