Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Here in Augusta

Well, here we are in Augusta.....again. We have an appointment at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow with the tumor board. When they called to confirm the appointment, well, I missed the call and said my 2nd bad word of the day, but I digress. The lady told me that as long as Rob doesn't eat or drink in the morning, they should be able to do a CT tomorrow. Also, if they do a CT tomorrow, they can do what she called a "wet read" and give preliminary results. Sounds like we should have a much better idea of what's going on tomorrow. I'm nervous, and Rob is.....well, Rob:) He's just anxious to get started and GET FINISHED! He's a busy, busy man. No time for this foolishness!

Keep us in your prayers.

Well, I'll let you go now...............

Monday, June 28, 2010

Stitches Out!

We followed up with the oral pathologist at MCG today. Rob had stitches from his biopsy that had to be removed, and the pathologist discussed his biopsy findings (in depth) with us.

Lots of tumors are staged with the TNM system. Tumor (size of tumor), Nodes (different designations determined by what nodes are involved and where they are), Metastasis (are there any distant metastasis sites). That's probably not the most technical description, but you get the idea. Anyhow, the "T" is the only part we know right now, and Rob's lesion is a "T1". This means the lesion is less than 2 cm in size! That's a GREAT thing.

After we see the tumor board on Thursday, we should know when additional tests will be done. Specifically, tests to determine if any nodes are involved.

There's no question that the remainder of the lesion has to be removed. The procedure to do this is called a partial glossectomy. In layman's terms: removal of part of the tongue.

Rob's plan is to "have the lesion removed, maybe have a little radiation and be done!" If you know Rob, he has an amazing faith in God, and a remarkably optimistic outlook on everything:) Two characteristics that are amazingly beneficial all of the time, but especially now.

You know how when you're on the phone and you need to get off for something important like going to the bathroom or catching a show on TV you always say: "Well, I'll let you go now......." That's kinda how blogging feels. You dump out the facts and think, "hmmm.....how do I end this?" So, I think I'll end with this. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

I'll let you go now...............

Friday, June 25, 2010

the situation

Rob asked me to start this blog so that his friends and family will have a way to keep up with what’s going on. I don’t know what I would have called this post, but Rob chose “the situation”. I’m not gonna lie, I would probably have used a string of 4 letter words with a generous dose of tears mixed in. So, we went with Rob’s idea:)

On Wednesday, we found out that Rob has squamous cell carcinoma on his tongue. We don’t know much right now. No idea the extent of the disease or the treatment options.

We are going to the Medical College of Georgia on Thursday, July 1st, to meet with the “tumor board”. Rob will be seen by an ENT surgical oncologist, radiologist, pathologist and hematologist. After they see Rob, the 4 of them will meet to discuss Rob’s case. A couple of hours later, we will meet with this team to discuss Rob’s treatment plan.

Please keep us in your prayers. Rob is hoping that this will be a VERY short blog with an awesome ending!