Update on my wife

GeoWes

Senior Member
Howdy all.



The Mayo Clinic is moving fast on this. Pat has been through several screenings and evaluations regarding her melanoma. On a scale of 1-4, they have graded her cancer as a 5. They did an ekg and stress test and decided that she likely won't die during surgery. They say her Thyroid gland is enlarged and you can see it protruding into her airway so they may take that out, too.


Tomorrow (27th) we go back up to Rochester and they will do a PET scan. Something like an MRI where they inject die and see if it has spread into her lymph nodes. Anything that has the cancer is supposed to light up and they are going to scan her entire body. Lets hope she doesn't light up like a Christmas tree.


What is certain is that they will take about a 4" patch of tissue out around the original site, which will damage the nerve that closes her eye and controls some facial movement, so she will look like she has a palsy or some kind of stroke for a while.There will be a two surgeon team; one for the cancer and the other for facial reconstruction. After the PET scan they will have a road map to work with and will know if they have to take out more than just half of her face.



Surgery is scheduled for the 1st of June and will take about 2-3 hours to do the work and they plan to keep her for 2-3 days. Post-op treatments will be radiation that we can get locally here in IF. We are told that recovery will take a while, so no state democratic convention for her.
 

GeoWes

Senior Member
Thanks, Lawrence. We are both upbeat about this. Things have moved so fast, we really haven't had time to worry about what could go wrong. The folks at the Mayo Clinic have been great with us. Very careful to explain everything in detail.
 

"CHRIS"

Senior Member
Looks like you have a lot going on right now. Deal with today, and let tomorrow take care of itself. I'll say a prayer tonight for you and your wife. Chin up GW!
 

GeoWes

Senior Member
Well, good news! The PET scan shows that nothing has spread so we dodged a bullet on that. All Mayo Clinic will do is take out a 4" patch under her eye to make sure that everything is gone and do some reconstruction on her face. They are not going to do anything with her thyroid gland so we will deal with that locally. And she probably will not have to do radiation treatments either.



So we actually get to spend 4 straight days at home, then back up on June 1st bright and early for surgery. Now they expect to just keep her for a day.



Pat says thanks for all the prayers, support and hugs and that she loves you all. (me, too)
 

"CHRIS"

Senior Member
Well, good news! The PET scan shows that nothing has spread so we dodged a bullet on that. All Mayo Clinic will do is take out a 4" patch under her eye to make sure that everything is gone and do some reconstruction on her face. They are not going to do anything with her thyroid gland so we will deal with that locally. And she probably will not have to do radiation treatments either.



So we actually get to spend 4 straight days at home, then back up on June 1st bright and early for surgery. Now they expect to just keep her for a day.








Pat says thanks for all the prayers, support and hugs and that she loves you all. (me, too)

Well, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND to the both of you!!!!! Great news indeed. Now, go out and enjoy it! Thanks are not needed.....this type of stuff affects us all. This news made my night too.....one more beer will be drank as a result lol:)
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
So happy to hear the news. It is always such a great relief to have good news after fearing the worst. Prayers are being said for successful, quick healing and for comfort to you both.
 
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