Cancer Free!

Just got done talking with the Surgeon; he reports that the surgery did indeed go very well. He removed three nodules from the right lung: two from the upper lobe, and one from the lower lobe. He was able to use wedge resection again, similar to the previous left lung procedure. This means he only took the minimum amount of lung tissue required to get the tumor out with sufficient margin. The margins are "grossly clear", but we have to wait until the final pathology report is in to be sure they got it all. We are of course, confident...

The scans had shown two nodules of interest in the right lung. However, the right lung also contained the infection from the possible pneumonia Lauri had this past summer (recall from previous posts about the "stuff" the Oncologist was concerned about). I believe the two tumors were successfully removed, while the third nodule is scar tissue remaining from the infection. We'll see what the pathology says...

We got to visit Lauri in the recovery room as well. She is feeling OK; battling some pain in the right shoulder. According to the Anesthesiologist, it sounds like the epidural block was a little low on her right side. The block is definitely sufficient for the incision site and the mid chest to lower abdominal area, but it doesn't really do much for the shoulder area right now. They are effectively controlling the shoulder pain with extra pain medications and heating pads. The shoulder is usually very sore after this type of procedure because of the contortions they put her shoulder and arm in to get them out of the way for the Surgeon to work. The Anesthesiologist also mentioned that pain from the drain tubes is also known to be referred up to the shoulder area sometimes. During the time Lauri's Dad, Mom, and I had visited her, they were already getting the pain under control, and Lauri was feeling much better.

We are all pretty tired over here. It has been a long journey to get to today, and we still have a long way to go. We expect to be in the hospital for anywhere from 3-7 days.

In the meantime, I would like to thank you all very much for all of your kind words, support, and prayers. We haven't completed the journey yet, in fact it never ends, but at least we are on the downhill side of this mountain. We could not have reached the peak without you all, and we look forward to the scenic route on the way down!

We are now waiting for a room to become available, and getting some rest in the meantime... Please leave comments for Lauri, she enjoys them so much, and will be reading them once she is comfortably in the room.