Hi there all. It's been a while since my last up date on Lisa and things are changing a little in our lives. March was a hard month for everyone it seemed, I lost my Dad on March 8, about the same time several warriors here were entering into the final stage of their battle so I held off from posting any bad news about him. He was an asbestos worker (insulator) for a lot of his years working, and I suspect that the eventual cause of his death was meso, although my Mom didn't want to have any post death biopsies done so it couldn't be proven. His journey was eeriely in step with all of those who have passed from pleural meso, and it wasn't until after he had been cremated that the doctor told my Mom that what she was under the impression of being a small tumor was in fact pretty massive. His suffering was pretty much under control until the last couple of days, when he was battling oxygen starvation. The last twelve hours he slipped into a coma then passed away. His symptoms for the last six months or so were pretty much what I was reading everyday on the site.
OK, enough of that. Lisa passed her sixth year anniversary on the 11th of March, and had her next CT scan. Her scans showed some enlargement in one place that they have been following the last four years, so we flew down to San Diego yesterday to consult with Dr. Lowy. He reviewed the scans and we have decided to have another surgery to debulk what is visible at this time. We truly believe that this is a good thing, he and his team were delighted with her basically good health to this point and feel that she can tolerate another surgery very well. We asked about HIPEC and he told us that with what he has todo he doesn't think that it is warranted, but will have it standing by if he feels that the need for it is justified. The tumor they are concerned with is in her liver and he will have to
remove a small part of it to remove the tumor which is about 4 x 2 cm in size. She has three other smaller spots that they have been monitoring, that they think they can get to easily. The surgery is going to take place probably around late May, so I will try to keep everyone posted. Stay strong Mike
Mike, Partner/Caregiver of Lisa, dx 3/06 peritoneal mesothelioma