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Posted

I waited a bit to post here because of an odd finding that Kelly had in the last 3 scans - April, August and December - her right tonsil kept lighting up her PET scan. Although the odds were in our favor that this was not (1) a met from the lung or (2) lymphoma or (3) head and neck cancer - no one was really comfortable doing nothing. In April and August, the ENT examined her and said he just saw nothing that worried him. But at an appointment in late Oct or early Nov, he asked her - if this turns out to be 'something', would you treat it? She said to him - I've done everything I possibly can to beat this, why would I stop now? So they set a date for January to take the tonsil out.

She was hoping the December scan would show it doing nothing, but no such luck. So the tonsillectomy was a go. She laughs when she says - how often do you have a doctor use the phrase "excruciating pain" when telling you what to expect.

The main reason this is in the 'good news' folder is, that the reason everyone was determined to remove the tonsil is, that for all three of those scans, absolutely no measurable uptake was seen where the tumor is. You can see it on the CT, but not on the PET. In December, her doctor told her to wait 6 months before the next scan. Then he looked at me and said "next December, we're going to yearly scans."

So - tonsillectomy was last week and although she never felt 'excruciating pain', she is hurting. But on Friday at her follow-up with the ENT, she was told that the path report came back negative. I said - well I guess sometimes a tonsil is just a tonsil. :)

Now she's making a plan to get back on her stationary bike to get her legs ready for the 5K at this August's Philly Livestrong Challenge.

My sister - she still amazes me!

Posted

Certainly sounds as if there were some unsettling times. I'm relieved and so happy to hear the outcome of it all. Wish I could ride a bike - I'd join you in Philly. I have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time - so no chance of that ever happening. Good luck.

Kasey

Posted

Cat - what wonderful news! Isn't it great when a tonsil is just a tonsil :) ! BTW, your sister amazes me too. Her attitude is something - I love her comment - "why would I stop now?"...indeed why! Congratulations on this great update.

Linda

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