Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Surgery coming soon

We went to see Dr. Nissen, the surgeon, and Dr. Sokolov, the infectious disease doctor, associated with Cedars-Sinai, today. Based on the PET/CT scan and other tests, they decided I'm a good candidate for Whipple surgery, and together we decided to do it. The date hasn't been set yet -- somebody else had to be consulted about Dr. Nissen's schedule -- but we should know tomorrow and it should be in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to it pretty confidently. Based on the PET/CT scan the cancer hasn't spread, and this surgery should eliminate all the malignancy. Some of the research we did suggested that one should seek a doctor who is experienced with Whipple and does 5 or 10 a year. Dr. Nissen often does four a week and participates in international symposia. He's a nice person who inspires a great deal of confidence.

The main thing for the rest of our time at home is to build my strength for the surgery. I'm eating well and will do more walking and yardwork. I'm also doing lung exercises and playing the clarinet for the first time in some years. Feeling confident.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Best wishes. Remain positive.

Anonymous said...

Alan, A couple of things for you to look up and read. First, a veterinary who has found out some interesting diet information at dogtorj.net, then a search on Dr. Otto Warburg and another search on A1 Beyta Casein. If you survive those, I have many more. I have been studying cancer for over ten years and have come to the conclusion that no one need die of cancer or even get it. More later...Clint