Moving Forward Again

Friends to the Rescue
I posted to Facebook asking my network of family and friends for a referral to a radiologist for a second opinion of my scans.  It wasn't long before for a few of my friends reached out to me.  That alone was enough to raise my spirits and made the world of difference emotionally.

I spoke with my friends brother-in-law over the phone this morning on the way to work.  He's a doctor out of San Francisco.  Very nice guy who was genuinely concerned for my well-being.  He had a few great suggestions.

He recommended I have my case reviewed by the Tumor Board.  Being that I'm young, have had surgery already and the primary site was still unknown made me a good candidate.  The Tumor Board is a panel of doctors that review cancer cases to discuss the PET/CT/MRI images, tests or pathology results and past treatments.  They brainstorm and decide on what best course of action would be.  Sounds perfect!  I feel like the more people I have looking at this the sooner it'll come to a resolution.

It also seems to me like my Oncologist and ENT aren't communicating much, if at all.  I asked if he recommended having an Oncologist at the same medical center as my ENT and radiation oncologist and he did.  He said my Oncologist should really be the one spearheading my treatment and if he's at the same medical center as the other doctors he can bang on doors and get answers.  I did some research and I think I found one.  Just have to make an appointment.

Another thing he said I could do is ask my ENT to have the pathology department take another look at my tonsil tissue that was removed.  He said the tissue is usually saved and sometimes the first look doesn't always prove fruitful, but a second look does.  It's worth a shot.  Hopefully my ENT agrees.

So that conversation was pretty awesome.  It gave me some direction and confidence.

Pain in the Throat
However, there's still the fact that I wasn't scheduled to see my ENT until Dec. 1st and I'm still experiencing intense, sharp pain in my throat throughout the day.  It was bad enough last night that I was seriously considering going to the Urgent Care or Emergency Room last night.  Then I did some research.

I found, on the Internet of all places (lol), that pain around the Adam's Apple, which is where I'm experiencing it at the moment, could be caused by acid reflux (which could be caused by stress) or post-nasal drip.  I thought about that and, obviously, I've been stressed lately, especially in the last month or so when I first heard the news that they didn't find the cancer in my tonsils.

I've also been having some post-nasal drip, maybe even during the last couple weeks.  Hmmm.  So lastnight I took some Benedryl before bed.  Will help me sleep at least.  This morning, no difference, but it may take a few days.  So I'm going to take some antihistamine/decongestant over the next few days to see if it goes away.

Enter the Wife
But my wife, on the other hand, is not going to standby and let me suffer.  She could see I was miserable and was in pain.  So she asked if I wanted her to call to try to get me into the ENT earlier.  I was highly doubtful she could.  I had already called and left a voicemail letting them know I was in pain and wanted to be seen sooner.  Maybe they were just waiting to see if I was REALLY in pain and would call back?

I figured it couldn't hurt so I told her to go ahead and give it a shot.  Well, she blew my mind.  In a few minutes she had gotten me an appointment first thing in the morning the very next day!!  I asked her how she got me an appointment so soon?  She told me that unleashed "bitch mode" on them and they got me in.  Wow!  Word of warning out there, don't mess with an Irish woman or her man.  Word of wisdom, if you have cancer, hope you have a spouse that has a fully functioning "bitch mode" available. ;)

Meeting with Radiation Oncologist

I met with my radiation oncologist last Monday morning.  He introduced himself and, instead of me having to bring him up-to-speed, he told me everything he knew about my case.  I appreciated this.  It showed me that he has already taken the time to familiarize himself with me.  He told me to correct him if he gets anything wrong and feel free to add additional information along the way as I see fit.  I did.

After we went through everything up until now he confirmed that I'm on the right course doing the right thing.  Hearing that never gets old because fear and doubt creep into my thoughts on a daily basis.  It's one of the battles that I have to deal with.

He told me it's a bit early for him to do anything but I already knew that.  I let him know I realized that but that I just wanted to get the ball rolling so that after surgery I wouldn't have to worry about getting this duck sorted out.

I call all the things I need to do "ducks", as in ducks in a row or in a pond.  I like the pond metaphor better because sometimes they don't happen in a specific sequence.  Being open to that prevents anxiety and stress.

I also asked him, that I ask all the doctors I encounter, if he sees this cancer a lot and what he sees as the average prognosis.  He told me he does see this often and he said he's seen a 90%+ survivability rate.  That news made my eyes well up with tears of hope.

Life is funny.  I think we go about it not really thinking about death.  When in reality we can die any day, any moment.  Whether it be in a car crash, a random shooting or bombing (now-a-days), being struck by a meteor or a million other things that can spell our demise.  I know I did.

I mean, I occasionally did.  But I just pushed it out of my head, like I'm sure most people do.  Living blissfully in ignorance.  You can't very well go around thinking about death anyway.  That would make one pretty dreary.  Hell, I even planned on living well into old age, I still do, at least I hope I do but with a huge dose of reality that that may as well not happen.

Being courted by Death sure does put one on notice.  This death thing is real!  It can really happen, to me!

I was always one who looked to the future.  Waited for the weekend, saved for a rainy day, saved for retirement, waiting for a someday when I'll finally go here, or do this or say that.  Reminds me of a quote by a wise man...

"All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was." - Yoda, Empire Strikes Back

Funny how I've heard those words many times but had never taken them to heart, until now.  Yes, they're words spoken by a fictional character from a movie, but that doesn't make them any less true.

Now, what this cancer has given me is a greater appreciation for the now.  An appreciation for today.  Who I am now.  Where I am now.  Who I'm with now.  What I'm doing now.  I am a now person living in today.

Anyway, back on track.

He did a brief exam of my neck and mouth which pretty much every doctor has done that I have seen.  He said that once the surgery is finished we'll know how to proceed.  He'll receive the reports from the surgeon and from that he'll know what and how to target my neck with radiation to kill any remaining cancer cells.

He went through the normal stuff like what I can expect, how long the treatment will take, and the side effects I may or may not experience.  One side effect that I'm concerned about is loss of saliva.

He said most people lose some saliva production, and some lose all.  Not only could I have the discomfort of a dry mouth but little or no saliva could cause severe dental hygiene problems.  It's manageable but I would have to keep a water bottle with me all the time and take sips constantly to wet my mouth.  Not the worst thing a person would have to live with.  I'm hoping for not a complete loss of my ability to salivate, but if I do I'll just have to deal with it and be thankful I'm alive.

That's about the extent of my visit.  Another positive doctors visit.  Those never get old either.  I'll take all those I can get.

Finding the Right Doctors and Hospital

I've been trying to find the best doctors and hospitals in the area that are covered by my insurance.  Wow, is it tough.  I've been satisfied with my ENT so far but wanted to have options.  He said he was fine referring me to someone else and recommended a doctor at a local university hospital.  I was like, "OK.  Let's give it a shot."  So his office gave me a name and I got an appointment.  Then I started doing research.

This university hospital advertises on their website that they're a top rated ENT hospital as reported by U.S. News Best Hospitals, but that was in 2008.  OK, well what about now?  So I went to U.S. News website and looked it up.  Not doing so well now, at all.  OK, so what are good hospitals in my area.  None, apparently.  I also found Hospital Safety Score and found most of the hospitals in my area only garnered a "C".

I also did research on my doctors on a couple different websites at the top of Google results.  To put it simply I wasn't exactly impressed with what I found.  The reviews were mostly unflattering, to say the least.  I took it with a grain of salt knowing that most people who are going to take the time to find a site to post, register and write the post have something negative to say.  Still, I wanted to see if I could find better.

I expanded my search to local metropolitan areas and found a university hospital in a major city that was rated #4 nationally for ENT and #5 nationally for cancer.  That got my hopes up.  So I checked my insurance and found two doctors that were in-network that were affiliated with that hospital.  One of them was the Professor and Chair of the Head and Neck Surgery Department.  I got pretty excited, that was until I did research on him.  Again I found reviews that were less than flattering.

During this process I received a call from a friend and co-worker.  We discussed what I was going through and he provided some encouraging words, stories and offered assistance in whatever was needed to help me battle this illness.  He is also one of my bosses and told me they would be willing to work with my schedule to get me the care necessary.  I just have to take this moment to say how huge of a relief it is when going through something like this that you have the support of your employer and know they've got your back.  Huge relief and gratitude.

He told me of his wife and her doctor and how good he was and that they've even become best friends over the years.  He said that I could send doctors names his way and he would look into them for me.  So I did but he said that he wasn't familiar with them.  Then it occurred to me, why not just see him.  I did some research and found out he had an office nearby and was "in-network".  I asked my friend if he was taking new patients and could see me and he said he was.  Long story short, I have an appointment to see him next Wednesday.

This doctor is an Oncologist, not an ENT like my other doctor, but the ENT he said he refers out to, based on the research I've done, is highly regarded AND is affiliated with a hospital that received an "A" by Hospital Safety Score.  So, ya, I'm excited.

Tentative Pet Scan

So I received a call from the imaging center just moments ago, pleasantly surprised to hear from them on a Sunday.  I have a tentative appointment for early Friday morning.  Not as soon as I'd like, but I let her know to call me if they get a cancellation earlier.  She said they would.

Just went over some questions and what I needed to do to prepare for it dietary wise.  She was very professional and thorough.  I always appreciate that.  One step forward.

Change In Diet and Daily Routine

So immediately after I was diagnosed I began doing research and, along with the help of my wife who is well versed in holistic and alternative healing, began implementing changes in my diet and daily routine.

I switched from drinking coffee to green tea.  The catechins are the anti-cancer components in green tea and I read that you don't want to brew the tea at boiling point because it destroys them at that temperature.  A comprehensive study details catechin content results based on brewing temp and time and the sweet spot is around 176 degrees for 20 minutes.  The longer it brews, up to 80 minutes, the more catechins are present but who wants to wait that long to drink their tea.  So I'm using a thermometer to microwave the water to that temp (just over 2 min) and then steep the tea.  I also read catechins are better preserved with vitamin C.  They recommend adding citrus to your green tea, the best being lemon.  So I'm doing that as well.

I'm drastically reducing if not wholly eliminating refined sugars, alcohol, red and barbecued meat since they all contribute to cancer growth.  I'm using the anti-cancer oil my wife blends.  She also told me that cancer thrives in an acidic environment so I should try to get my body chemistry more alkaline.  She ordered me test strips to determine my pH and recommended and eat more fruits and vegetables that aren't acidic.  A quick Google search provided other ways to become more alkaline.

Apart from that I'm working hard at being positive and reducing negativity from my life.  I'm continually open to all possibilities and options to beating this thing.

I'll close with a quote my wife texted me in the middle of the night..."A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles."  I am grateful for everyday that God gives me.