Surgery on Tuesday

Surgery to resect the tumour has been confirmed for next Tuesday. I am not looking forward to it. However it is necessary for my survival.

The tumour swelling still appears to be subsiding. I experience very little, if any, sensation of swelling or hardness in the tumour area. Occasionally I experience hardness or lumpiness in the popliteal area, below the tumour, which I have experienced in the past and mistaken for enlarged lymph nodes. It's now easy to see how I missed noticing the tumour until it became vary obvious.

However the groin/buttock region of the same leg, which is supposed to be free of disease, continues to be the main source of discomfort in any activity involving sitting, especially driving (and also my flight simulator pedals LOL). The upper thigh is obviously enlarged and has been that way since 2002. It continues to become harder from the sensation perspective and hardness has also spread to my backside. Along the way one doctor told me he could feel an illusive lump, and suggested a lipoma, and another said there appeared to be a fatty growth in the groin/buttock but was mystified as to what it was. Lymph nodes in that area frequently become painfully inflammed. A couple of doctors carrying a pre-admin examination noticed the swelling back in 2001 and enquired about it. Yet surprisingly none of the doctors, in recent months have commented on it. While I have mentioned to many doctors in recent months, I have not pushed to issue for reasons mentioned below. I leave it to them.

I had a trip to the hospital yesterday for the presurgery routine, i.e. sessions with nurse, anesthetist, pharmacist and doctor. I have experienced periods of sudden fatigue (usually late afternoon or evening), chest tightness, sinusitis and chest infection, since the end of radiation treatment, which I imparted to the doctors yesterday. Indeed I am experiencing breathing difficulties while writing this morning and find myself gulping for air; a combination of infection & fatigue. I experienced similar afflictions in May & June following respiratory infection & flu from late March through to early May. These symptoms appeared to clear in July and indeed following this year's severe winter flu bug, I was much better after that illness than before. Keflex treatment following the biopsy may have assisted also. The doctor was concerned yesterday, but my chested sounded ok when both the anesthetist & doctor listened to it. The doctor decided to run with the anesthetist's decision, so surgery goes ahead. I've made a GP appointment for tomorrow to further check.

As mentioned above, this happened to me in May & June this year, and my lungs were apparently clear even to myself, yet I still experienced breathing difficulties and a pressing sensation in the top part of my chest. At that time I was worried that the cancer may have spread to my chest, however the PET scan cleared me of that, and as related above, these afflictions disappeared from early July through until late September. Thus the possibility of cancer in the chest ceased to be a concern.

Earlier illnesses in 2001 left me afflicted with a condition diagnosed as chronic, multiple location adenopathy, inflammatory rather than neoplastic. This condition still appears to exist, and nodes such as the axilla nodes appear to come up with the slightest wheeze or sniffle and become painfully inflamed, likewise in the groin. I also have a lymphatic condition in the right neck & breast that has slowly developed since 2001. This condition may be related to a similar condition in the groin/femoral region of the right thigh. This appears to be a constant slowly developing condition. These are generally non-painful but do become sore in the presence of obvious infections and very obviously with the consumption of alchohol. I do wonder, on occasion whether these difficulties are caused by nodes pressing in on other tissues.

Interestingly the anesthetist told me yesterday they had difficulty inserting a tube down my throat back in June whether that's related to the above I do not know?

I do tell doctor's all these things. I've imparted most of the above to various doctors during the course of recent months. They are briefly startled, but usually it's not what I'm seeing them about, or not on their plan, and, after briefly pausing, continue on their merry way. I don't push the matter for fear of coming across as a hypochondriac. The medical situation has been confused due to new doctors in the last 4 years, as I have moved away from my former suburb and GP who knew much about these matters. Kidney/UTI symptons re-occur with alarming regularity on the left side and chronic epididymitis persists on the right.

Anyway I've digressed a bit - hopefully the sinus & accompanying breathing problems will ease up over the weekend.

cheers

Rob