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114<br />
Saturday Afternoon At St. Agnes Medical Center<br />
Saturday, January 28, 2012<br />
Just a brief update. It has been frustrating, but I have been in my hospital room since<br />
3:00 AM. I had a Barium study this morning and will post pictures when I get home.<br />
Hyperalimentation will start tonight. I will be seen by Dr. Flam Monday morning, I<br />
presume in the hospital and go home Monday to continue hyperalimentation at home.<br />
Surprisingly, the Barium went down to my stomach passing around a huge glob of goo un<br />
my upper esophagus. The lower esophagus is very narrow and tortuous, but no evidence<br />
of malignancy there.<br />
The last piece of the puzzle will be a scan, either PET/CT or CT to see if there is<br />
malignancy in the area. I am optimistic there is not. We will then need a strategy to deal<br />
<strong>with</strong> the lower esophagus.<br />
Judy has been a Jewish Saint during all of this. Thanks to well-wishers.<br />
More details to come, depending on the degree of insomnia tonight and my mental<br />
status.<br />
Posted by David Shuster at 04:06PM (-08:00)<br />
Brief Update I am home<br />
Monday, January 30, 2012<br />
Monday Evening.<br />
I am home from the hospital finally.<br />
I have a PET/CT scheduled for tomorrow morning.<br />
With nitroglycerine to relieve esophageal spasm, I was able to have Boost+ tonight.<br />
Continue hyperalimentation tomorrow.<br />
Depending on the results of the PET/CT, perhaps a removable esophageal stent is in the<br />
offing.<br />
It will take some time for me to chronicle the events of the week-end and to post images<br />
from my esophagram and hopefully from my PET/CT.<br />
This all awaits a future post.<br />
Posted by David Shuster at 06:43PM (-08:00)<br />
The Bad News Doesn't Stop<br />
Tuesday, January 31, 2012<br />
This morning, while being prepped for my PET scan, I answered my cell phone. It was Dr.<br />
Flam. He had just received the pathology report on biopsies of my distal esophagus done<br />
by Dr. Lewis on Thursday. The biopsy material contains <strong>Merkel</strong> cell carcinoma.<br />
Shortly after arriving home, Dr. Stobbe called me <strong>with</strong> the results of the scan. There is a<br />
large mass of tumor around my lower esophagus, up to 6 cm in length. There are also<br />
positive nodes in my upper abdomen.<br />
I have an appointment <strong>with</strong> Dr. Flam tomorrow at 3:00 PM at which time he will<br />
recommend more chemotherapy. Dr. Lewis agrees <strong>with</strong> that, but I will await the opinion of<br />
Dr. Nghiem. I spoke <strong>with</strong> Dr. Blom, who works <strong>with</strong> Dr. Nghiem. He was in Washington<br />
but will be back in Seattle tonight. I will fax or email the path report, and images from my<br />
Barium Swallow tonight, and images from my PET and the report tomorrow.<br />
I began home hyperalimentation today.<br />
<strong>My</strong> <strong>Battle</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Merkel</strong> <strong>Cell</strong> <strong>Cancer</strong>
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