We just got back from Vancouver yesterday and received the best news possible. Dr. Nasir, the thoracic surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, said he is able to perform surgery to remove the two lesions from Judy's lungs. Judy and I were certainly impressed with his approach. Judy will have her first surgery on April 29 in Vancouver. About 20% of her left lung will removed when the lesion is removed. If all goes well with the first surgery, a second surgery will follow in Vancouver six weeks later to remove the lesion from the other lung from her right lung. Again, 20% of the lung will be removed leaving Judy with 60% of her lungs intact. The recovery time after each surgery is about 3-5 days depending on how quickly the lungs stop draining after surgery.
Dr. Nasir is hoping to follow a less invasive approach. Four small incisions (1-3 cm) are made in the chest. The largest incision allows a camera to be inserted. The surgeon extracts from the other incisions. Essentially, the surgeon goes in between the bones rather than opening up the whole chest.
Apparently, the risk factors are fairly low. For instance, the risk of bleeding is only 2%. The doctor said the procedure will be nowhere near the complexity of her last surgery.
During the first operation, the doctor will test the lymph nodes in the area to determine whether cancer is present in the lymph system. If cancer is present, there will be no subsequent surgery. Good news is: the chance of finding cancer in the area is only 12%.
As usual, Judy is facing the surgery with optimism, courage, and determination.
Obviously, we are hopeful these operations will mean Judy will no longer have to endure chemo every three weeks indefinitely. At last count, Judy is nearing 90 chemo treatments and 28 radiation treatments over the last 6 years!
I should mention there would be a third surgery after the first two lung surgeries. The third surgery would be to remove the lesion from Judy's pelvic area. So...a summer of surgeries is in our future.
Our girls are going to coming with us to Vancouver for the first operation. We have rooms
booked in the lodge for families of cancer patients near the hospital.
Does anyone want a dog?
