I got a call from my NP this morning that those pesky nodules in my left lung have gotten a little larger (I had a CT scan yesterday). She and Dr. A wanted to go ahead and try to biopsy because the radiologist said he thought they could "get them" now just using a needle through the chest wall (vs a more major surgery discussed when they were smaller). They wanted a biopsy to try to confirm whether it's truly an infection in my lungs (which wouldn't be odd given the immunosuppresant meds I've been on) or is it Hodgkins...
So in I went to UCSF Medical Center (not my original plans for this fine SF day!). The procedure itself was about an hour and a half and it was quite uncomfortable. It was difficult to actually get the needle to the nodes because the lungs are always moving as you breathe, and so are the nodules. So the goal is to get the patient to take consistent amounts of breath as they would on a CT Scan so they have a good "guess" where the nodes are. The docs had to make at least 5 or 6 attempts and may have gotten an okay sample at the very end. Oh and I wasn't sedated a bit...wide awake for this! Right off the bat, the pathologist didn't see cancer cells, but there is a lot more studying to be done. They also have to give the sample time to grow (which would happen in the case of an infection). In the end, we may not have any more decisive answers but we'll wait and see!
Now this weekend, I need to lay low and not pick up anything heavy (Nicholas) so I don't blow up the little puncture from the needle in my lung. I don't want a readmission from a collapsed lung!
On another note, I wanted to share this deal currently taking place at
Athleta (thank you kerry for the alert)!
