September CT Results and Actions

I have been on a chemo break for four months now.  Yesterday I had a CT scan, and today we saw my oncologist.  The scan showed essentially no growth in one area and a small amount in another.  Dr. Camidge recommended not returning to chemo now, and I readily agreed.  We’ll wait three months between CT scans this time instead of the usual two.

That’s the good news for today, but we had a good discussion of the course of my disease, and what follows is a summary for any who might be interested.  No one was expecting mesothelioma in May, 2010 when the surgeon went in to do a thoracoscopic procedure to end the pleural infusion in my right lung.  When they found cancer, I went through a battery of tests to determine if I was a candidate for an extrapleural pneumonectomy—the removal of my lung—which had the potential of providing a cure.  I qualified, and when they went in, they found cancer in the sack around the heart and decided not to remove the lung.  Instead, they removed the lining of the chest cavity, the pleura, and removed as much of the cancer as they could.  One of my surgeons was very experienced with mesothelioma and must have done a very good job of getting out as much of the cancer as possible because I am still alive three years later.

It seems that my tumors are slow growing, not what I had expected from what I had read about the aggressive nature of mesothelioma.  It also appears that the chemo I’ve had has been effective in keeping it in check, but the researcher in me wonders how quickly it would have grown without the chemo given the slow growth during my chemo breaks.  In summary, it appears that relatively early detection, my generally good health, the skill of the surgeons, and the chemotherapy have combined to keep my cancer from growing too rapidly.  When I was diagnosed it was my goal to be in the long tail of the mortality curve (see the article by Stephen Jay Gould to the right), and so far, so good.

I also think psychological stress has played a roll in my cancers.  As far as I can tell there is no clear relationship between stress and cancer, but both of my cancers were detected in times when I was under greater-than-average stress.  My life now is virtually stress free, and our interactions with our daughters and their families and our friends are positive factors in our lives, so I think my body is better able to deal with the cancer and keep the spread low, especially since there has been no evidence on metastasis.  Thanks to all of you who read this blog for your support as well.