Over the past few weeks we have noticed some swelling and changes to the area around Rob's collarbone by the tumor. We assumed it was changes from chemo and natural treatments and tried not to think much about it. The main swollen spot was soft so we thought the tumor was getting softer or had swelling on top of it. Over the weekend the swelling seemed to get worse and it started to affect Rob's swallowing and breathing. This morning we met with Rob's naturopath, Dr Ceasar, to go over the results of his metals test. This was the test we sent to the states and it measures if you have toxic levels of metals i.e. aluminum, lead, platinum, etc. The good news was there was nothing that showed up on that test that needs to be treated. Instead of talking about the test we ended up talking about the swelling and Dr Ceaser did an exam of Rob. He did a bunch of measurements and he feels the tumor is smaller....the good news. The bad news is that the swelling is not good and he said we should go see the doctor at Cancer Care to find out what is going on. After Rob got his natural treatment and I made a call to the nurse we headed straight to urgent care in Cancer Care. We ended up being there for 4 hours and left without any answers. The doctor there feels that there is something going on that needs to be figured out however they need to do an ultrasound and possible a CT scan to see what is going on. The 2 main possibilities they talked about would be a pocket of infection that would be treated with heavy antibiotics. The problem with this would be knowing why there is infection and if it has spread. Rob is not presenting with any other symptoms of infection so they are not sure about it and don't want to assume that is what it is. The other possibility is that it is a pocket of fluid (almost like a cyst). This could be due to the tumor dying off and the fluid is pooling there. They need to make sure that it isn't connected to anything else. So we left with an appointment for an ultrasound on Tuesday morning. We have to be there at 7:45am and will be on standby. That means we don't have a specific time but that they will squeeze Rob in when there is time. During the ultrasound they will have a look first and see what they think. If it looks like a pocket of fluid then they will put a needle in to put some of the fluid out so they can see if it is infection or tumor related. Rob is not thrilled with the idea of a needle going in and is worried it could make something spread however if he opts out of the needle it will be harder to treat.
Tonight we are exhausted after a long day and wishing we had answers. We are glad that we went in today to get this looked at and are praying we get answers and treatment quickly and that it can be resolved. It just doesn't seem fair that Rob has to deal with another problem even with everything else he is dealing with. We are crying out to God tonight for many things and in our weakness we are trusting and leaning on Him.
These are the things you can pray for...
-that we are seen quickly tomorrow morning
-that the ultrasound is able to give a clear picture and that we don't have to wait for a CT scan
-that they are able to treat this easily and quickly with out any complications
-that this is not anything to do with cancer spreading
-for relief of pain for Rob
-that he is able to sleep tonight
-that his airways stay open and that he doesn't have difficulty breathing
-and what we pray for everyday since this journey began...for complete healing in Rob's body and for many more happy, healthy years on earth.
Love Karen
PS..sorry if there are spelling mistakes! My proof reader has gone to bed!
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