Biopsy Results Back and We Meet with Radiologist/Oncologist

As of Wednesday morning, here is the status of things, this as we know that lots of you are interested and really care about what the heck is going on - bless you all!

- Matt did get his second neck pump out Tuesday so he is no longer limited by a goofy tube coming out his neck but the incision/stitches are still quite impressive! Having the tube out feels REALLY good he says.

- The throat/mouth/nose biopsies all came back negative which is good and bad. It is good as there is no obvious, lurking cancer there; it is bad as the drs are all saying the cancer in Matt's lymph node came from SOMEWHERE and we really want to know where so we can treat it specifically.

- We have requested and they are doing a second test of the infected lymph node just to be sure they really did find cancer however the radiation oncologist, Dr. H, warns us not to get our hopes up on that front.

- They have also requested a test of the node that would help us learn if by chance the cancer was caused by a form of Pap virus...I don't have the technical details on that but we should find out if that is the cause in about a week or ten days....

- We meet with a pulminologist tomorrow (Thursday morning), this as a consult to hopefully confirm that the spots in his lungs that they saw on one of the original CT scans truly are normal/of no concern (which everyone seems to think is most likely). Keep your fingers crossed.

- In about 4 weeks, he will have what is called a PET scan/test - that is another way to see where the cancer might be coming from. We can't do it until his neck is healed and the swelling is down, ergo the delay. We are currently hanging a lot of hopes on this test, for better or for worse.
- We did meet with a radiation oncologist yesterday (Dr. H, at Methodist cancer center). He was helpful on a couple of fronts: 1) was able to do the request for the doubling checking of the node, 2) also confirmed that they were testing the node for the virus, 3) gave us a couple names for some second opinions of folks at the Univ of MN as well as down at Mayo, 4) helped make clear the severity of radiation therapy which may be that which they recommend for Matt.

If they can't find the primary source of the cancer in Matt's neck/throat, etc., their normal procedure would be radiate his whole neck/throat area and the side effects are such that this is REALLY something we (me AND Matt!) don't want to have to do if at all possible. Targeted radiation (e.g. for cancer of the tonsils, tongue, etc) is different and not as involved...We'll have to see how it all plays out.

And last, 5) he shared that Matt's case has them all pretty baffled right now! He told us our primary dr (Dr. W, who has been just great) is going to present Matt's case at an upcoming conference to see if anyone has any other thoughts or suggestions. The size of the node when they took it out (it was about 5 cm x 3cm; so about 2 inches long) is one of the most concerning factors we gather - and that nothing else being seen/detected is a bit weird.

So that's it for the moment. We are still processing (and catching up on sleep!) but feel pretty good about the care to-date - and all the suggestions and support from all of YOU. Thanks and hang in there with us!