Major Life-Threatening Surgery? Too much to take in!

So yeah, went on thursday for my fourth lot of Vinblastine.

I was taken into the consultant room to speak with my doctor and was yet again introduced to more student doctors. I know they mean well and are only trying to learn but it's annoying when you are about to hear the results of tests and want to ask the consultant personal things......rant over :P

Anyway, the week before i was sent for a routine chest x-ray to see how my tumour was reacting to my new doses of vinblastine and the results were not bad, but not amazingly good either.

It showed that the tumour hadn't shrunk at all but at least the good thing is it hasn't grown anymore. This means that the chemotherapy i'm having is stopping the tumour from growing but isn't killing the cancer cells off.....not really any change from last time.


One extra thing.....

When i first ever got diagnosed the doctors explained how difficult surgery would be as the tumour is attached to my main artery and also my heart - basically saying it was a no-no.

Now however it seems they have changed their minds.
My consultant is now sending my scans and x-rays over to a specialist surgeon at the local adult hospital to see if he would attempt to take it out.

He didn't want to say much apart from the fact that it would be major surgery as it's so close to everything keeping me alive. They wouldn't be able to take the whole thing out but they want to try and take as much as possible. They then want to try and start me on another course of radiotherapy in the hope it will kill the cancer cells left.

One setback?
We have to now wait and see if the surgeon is willing to take on such a big operation.

I've got a funny feeling my consultant was holding back on a few things. My surgery would take numerous hours and the slightest slip up could be fatal.

Kind of scary really

So yeah, for the minute, we are waiting on the surgeons decision, could take a few weeks.

For the time being i am still taking weekly Vinblastine treatments in the hope it will keep the tumour at bay for now.

Will update this as soon as i find out any more news.

The doctor didn't explain whether there were any other options apart from this surgery....i sure hope so, at least then we will have something to fall back on.

I don't know whether i want this surgery to go ahead, but then again i think it's the only way forward.

It's either risk my life in that operation or not risk my life and end up loosing it anyway if nothing else works.

I think this is where the real fight is going to begin....