Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Adenocarcinoma…
     Cancer…
          Nodule…
               Tumor…
                    Mass…

Yeah, dramatic words. Powerful words. Words we don’t wish to hear but sometimes we come face-to-face with them. Depending upon what type of person we are, we deal with this sensory overload in various ways: head on; with tears; with research; with prayer; with screams; with hope or even with anger.

This is cardiothoracic surgery. Video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), is a minimally invasive (keyhole) surgical procedure. It allows the surgeon to directly examine the chest cavity without a big incision. Three or four small incisions will be made to allow the surgeon to use the special instruments (video camera and endoscope) needed for this operation. A very small video camera is used to project pictures of the chest cavity onto a screen during the procedure.

If interested, you can watch a procedure here

After today after my shower, we counted five keyhole openings in the chest wall. It does not involve a large incision and the separation of the rib cage. Yes, there is pain. Yes, there is tiredness. Yes, there is the potential for pneumonia to develop. My upper left lobe was removed during the procedure after the confirmation of cancer was verified.

We are still waiting for the biopsy results to confirm the “stage” of cancer. This will determine the future course of action – radiation treatment or chemo therapy. Or, if it was caught early enough, no further treatment could be required.

In the face of all this, I can say with confidence

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.”  
2 Corinthians 4:8 New Living Translation

Yes, I have pain. Yes, I am tired. Yes, it is as if I have no voice due to lack of air. Yes, I am praising my Savior and Lord!

No matter the staging results of the biopsy, I will offer my praise, for this I know to be true:


Prayer is one of the deepest forms of relationship with God…and through relationship there can be healing in the absence of cure.  ~Sara Miles

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue!

Yours, because we're His,
Tamara

3 comments:

  1. Hello my friend.
    Prayers are ongoing for you and for the reports that you will get back regarding your thoracic surgery results.
    Sending you hugs and much love....
    Always,
    Jackie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I called the doctor's office and spoke with his nurse regarding the pathology report (which should be available by now). She said it never gets posted on MyChart and the doctor will go over it all with me on the 21st. Waiting is a good thing. If it were bad, he would have called!

    ReplyDelete

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