Panda Watch!

Surgery, MRI Results & Treatment Plans

Surgery: I’m doing fine. No pain.

MRI Results of Spine:

We got results from the MRI of my thoracic spine, found the source of the pain on my right side and developed a symptom-driven care plan to help reduce pain and maximize a good quality of life.

There is a soft tissue tumor on my right side/upper back that has continued to grow since my Jan scan. This mass has been there but has not been causing me problems up until a couple of weeks ago.

It’s growing in the chest cavity from the lung, coming into contact with the nerve roots in my spine in my upper back. It caused me debilitating pain! Now we know the source of the pain and I can get help to reduce it.

Treatment Plans: 

I met with Dr. Rugo last with Ali on Zoom late Friday evening. 

The goal right now for me is to keep me comfortable. 

The next steps are taking steroids and radiation of the tumor touching the nerves. Both interventions will help decrease tumor size and alleviate some of my symptoms. 

Radiation will start at the end of next week and will be for 5 days straight. March 14-March 20th.

We had a difficult conversation with Dr. Rugo about chemo. The benefit of chemo at this point is unclear. Dr. Rugo is working diligently to explore what if any options exist. The way forward is very uncertain and I am deeply concerned that hospice is closer on the horizon than we anticipated. I appreciate Dr. Rugo and her team’s responsiveness and compassion for my situation.

I have CT scans scheduled for Friday this week of my chest and abdomen to see how the latest round of chemo impacted the other tumors.

A big THANK YOU to my sister Ali who was literally by my side for about 3 weeks helping me navigate this nerve pain and all the meds, etc. I don’t know what I would have done without her!

I am grateful for everyone’s support while walking through the woods with me on panda’s pilgrimage.