The Waiting Phase

Lord, give me patience. Note to self, be careful what you ask for.

It takes about 48 hours for an official diagnosis report after which the treating physician can order a PET CT scan to see if the cancer has spread to other areas of his body. Insurance company rules. Once the PET CT is completed the Cancer Center at UPMC will develop a treatment plan and we will meet with the radiologist and oncologist.

Six days have past since the biopsy and finally we have approval for the PET/CT Scan! The first opening for a scan is not until July 2nd at 4:00 pm – 2 more agonizing days of waiting.

The waiting continues – fast forward to July 8th and we meet with the medical team Dr. Chen (radiologist) and Dr. Osborn (oncologist) for the results of the PET/CT scan. The results show that the cancer is localized to Sam’s head and neck and at this point has not spread to other areas of his body. I’m relieved that the cancer hasn’t spread to his liver or lungs. Sam is now feeling the full weight of the news. It’s like drinking from a fire hose, as they say.

Dr. Osborn (the oncologist) told Sam straight away that this is the most difficult cancer to treat because of how sore the mouth gets. She told him he'll think "How bad can it be?" and she said, "It will be worse than you can imagine, but we will work to get you through it." She also told him that "No matter how bad it hurts, he must swallow every day, or he will lose the ability to swallow."

The radiologist told him that he will gradually lose his ability to taste food. I think that was one of the things that really impacted Sam. As it is now, the one thing he can and loves to do aside from cooking is eating. I'm sure that that will be the least of his problems as the treatment progresses, but I think it's probably a way for him to grieve and I know that he needs to do that.