Is there such a thing as chronic bone cancer? If there is, then I have it. A routine checkup last week found metastatic bone cancer tumors in both of my lungs. An extensive battery of additional tests confirmed that a minor pain in my right thigh is caused by another tumor. It is unclear whether these occurrences are related to last year's diagnosis. I also don't know yet what the exact treatment will be.
I wish I were a more skillful writer so I could better express how deeply frustrating and discouraging it was to learn I have cancer for a fourth time. Having passed my qual, this semester was supposed to be the first that I could devote solely to research; now I will have to split it between research and cancer treatments. After going to the gym nearly every other day since mid-February, I had finally passed last summer's best bench press; now vicious chemotherapy drugs will knock back any gains I made. An unlucky combination of genes has eaten away at my legs for the past eight years and now it has decided to go after my lungs.
All this came as a complete surprise. Unlike my previous diagnoses, I didn't have an enormous lump or stabbing pain anywhere. The only indication that something was wrong was a slight soreness in my right leg. Random aches are normal with that leg, but a spot near my hip had been bothering me since I bruised it while rock climbing. I drove to Indianapolis for my standard every-three-months-post-cancer checkup, hoping to get confirmation that the pain was harmless and expecting to return to Champaign by lunchtime.
I got several x-rays of the leg and my chest. After the scans, my surgeon very directly stated that the chest x-ray looked abnormal.
I didn't get back to Champaign. In the week since that initial x-ray, I have had a litany of additional scans. First, my surgeon ordered a CT scan of my chest and an MRI of my hip. Then, my oncologist ordered a full-body PET scan—my first—for Friday and a bone scan on Monday. Today I had another MRI of my leg, slightly lower than the previous one to better show the tumor.
Unlike my previous diagnoses, I was able to keep CDs of images for nearly all of the scans. The PET scan was particularly interesting. It is used to gauge metabolic activity. I was given an injection of radioactive sugar and told to lie still in a dark room. The important thing was to keep nonessential metabolic processes to a minimum. No movement (and no thinking) for two hours. I fell asleep, which I am told was probably the best thing to do. Then, I was taken to another dark room with the scanner. The tumors showed up as small bright blobs in the resulting images.
The bone scan shows bone growth. The leg tumor appeared, but the lung tumors were hidden.
The MRI showed the position of the leg tumor at the top of the femur. It is difficult to see much detail because all the metal in my leg interferes with the scan.
Lung tumors are undoubtedly a Very Bad Thing, and with my history, treatment will be a challenge. Fortunately, there are medicines and techniques available that did not exist just five years ago. I will write about the particulars once the plan solidifies.
I greatly value the love, support, and kind wishes that so many have sent. Thank you all.
