Could Have..

....missed it by THAT much!

Yesterday's biopsy was interesting. First thing: I had the same group of people as last time except for a different doctor. This doctor had a great sense of humor (He asked the nurse for a rubber mallet when he was putting the needle in). One of the nurses requested that she assist with my biopsy. She's a great lady.

The biopsy procedure answered the question about why the remaining cancer can't be removed surgically. The "alien" is in the middle of a bunch of blood vessels and bowels that could be damaged in the surgical process. Chemo is the safest way to go to prevent other complications.

Because the "live" tissue is in the middle of some residual stuff and the residual stuff is surrounded by good stuff (like organs, arteries, etc.), there was only a 5 centimeter "window" that the needle for the biopsy could fit into as determined by the CT scan. Last time, they did one scan and went in from my front (near the navel). This time, they went in from my back and did multiple scans. Rather than inserting the needle in one motion, they did it in several steps to monitor its path to verify it was on target. There were a couple of times that made me squint, but it wasn't extremely "I want to hit someone" painful. The good nature and humor of the doctor and nurses made it very tolerable.

They are very confident they did collect some live tissue that will give an accurate reading of the glowing area that showed up on last week's scans.

I should hear the results and what's next by Monday at the latest.

I'm good with that.

Keep remembering Bo, Hunter and Jay. I don't have details on all of them. God is in the details (but he doesn't "give" anyone cancer).

Have a great day!

Chief: Max, you realize that you'll be facing every kind of danger imaginable.
Maxwell Smart: And... loving it. - "Get Smart"