Cancer of Unknown Primary

So, I had a mammogram this morning. It was not half as bad as I had imagined. Uncomfortable but not painful and not scary at all. (A bit cold, but barely worth mentioning.) It showed nothing, which we expected. If you ever have to have a mammogram, ask for the stickers that they (hopefully) will put on your nipples. This helps to indicated exactly where the nipple is located and make reading the mammogram easier and makes comparing multiple mammograms easier because there is a consistent marker for the radiologist.

Then we met with the oncology team, consisting of a fellow (who has been seeing me and talking to me and ordering tests and such), the Branch Chief, and a surgeon. The fellow told me (as he had on the phone previously) that because the cancer growing in my lungs is colon cancer, but we cannot find any tumor anywhere else in my body, my diagnosis is now considered Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP). Only 2-5% of cancer patients fit this profile. Both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute have information on CUP online. We discussed treatment options and talked about what might be best for me as far as controlling my disease and preserving my quality of life. Looks like chemo and maybe more lung surgery or RFA (radio frequency ablation) are in my future.

I am rather tired, so I am not going to write much more today. I will not start treatment till mid-February. We're going to Costa Rica in the beginning of the month, so that will be a time to relax and soak in happiness before diving into chemo...I have a lot to do before then: I have to contact and meet with a couple of oncologists and a surgeon and perhaps a radiologist. Makes me even more tired to contemplate all that driving and meeting...