Now what?

It has been a little over two months since I received the news. Since this time frame is a bit easier to recollect, let me break down everything in a more concise format.

I received the news that my cancer has spread in April. I have an inch sized tumor located in my lower right lung which recorded as being extremely metabolic. I have an inch sized tumor in a lymph node, just near where my trachea splits off into my lungs, recorded as being extremely metabolic. A third nodule was also spotted in my lower left lung, but at the time showed low metabolic signs. They didn't rule out cancer, since it was a new spot since my last scan.

I was scheduled to meet with a surgeon and melanoma specialist at Emory. Both concluded that surgery would be secondary to a treatment and I would agree with them. If I had surgery first, I would have to wait 8 weeks before started any treatment, and it wouldn't guarantee new tumors showing up. So instead of undergoing possibly multiple surgeries, the treatment would be the first option to kill off the cancer, with surgery backing it up and removing the tumors at a later date.

My oncologist suggested a clinical trial which would be a good fit for me. Due to the rigors of the trial, they said my health and young age would be excellent factors in helping them determine the outcomes. As such, I've been under extreme scrutiny for testing to make sure I fit the profile, so as of now we are still in a holding pattern. We've had many hoops to jump through.

Our last hurdle at this point is now making 100% certain that what I have is in fact cancer. When we talked with the doctors, the consensus was that they were 95% sure given all the factors. But to qualify for a clinical trial, there can be no "almost" or "maybe". So I have to undergo a small procedure called a transthoracic percutaneous fine needle aspiration (FNA) under CT guidance. In non technical terms, that means poking me with a big honking needle in my lung. They will withdraw the tissue and sample it to make sure it is cancer.

I have mixed feelings about this. Both the surgeon and oncologist expressed to me the need to not worry about a biopsy; whatever is there would need to be removed at some point regardless, so surgery could be used as a way to extract the tumors for analysis. So this step came unexpectedly. On the other hand, I am still holding out hope that I may be falling under that 5% umbrella somewhere and all this worrying will be for naught.

So for now, we wait. The biopsy is scheduled for Friday, but we don't have any answers other than that. Hopefully they will expedite this process and get the show on the road. I'm quite anxious at this point.