August 11: I got a welcome phone call from my mom last night. The radiologist was finally able to compare four of Mom’s cat scans from over the last year, and they determined that the area that was suspected as a Sister Joseph’s Nodule has not changed or grown at all. That lead them to decide that it is not cancerous. What happy news!
After waiting for the last couple weeks to find out if Mom should have a biopsy of this nodule (which was just under the skin above her belly button), I’m relieved to have the doctor’s opinion. Apparently, Mom’s cat scans got sent to someone who was on vacation and then got stuck in transit, so that’s why it took so long for them to review them.
A radiologist reviewed them last night, and Mom’s oncologist called her at 8 pm to give her the results. This doesn’t mean that the clot in Mom’s portal vein isn’t cancerous, but it is a good sign. Here’s one thing I read about Sister Joseph’s Nodules:
Umbilical metastasis is one of many characteristic signs of extensive neoplastic disease. It suggests advanced distant metastasis and is associated with poor prognosis.
So I’m happy to think that this isn’t what we’re dealing with!
Mom’s brother, Kirk, is in town from Texas this week. He took Mom out to breakfast yesterday morning, so that was one of her first public outings in the past couple weeks. Her blood pressure continues to be very low, which means that when she walks around she feels really dizzy.
We’re going to talk over the next couple days about whether to try a blood thinner or chemotherapy, and I think Mom will be interested in starting whichever treatments she decides next week.
That’s the news for now!
~Althea