Biopsy Complete

Hoping everyone enjoys their Memorial weekend but just remember what the day means. "To honor all U.S. soldiers who have died serving our country".

It was a very long day yesterday. Procedure was supposed to begin at 1:00 p.m. but was delayed until 2:00 p.m. My sister was such a good sport with the long drive up and back and hanging out in the lobby while this took place. It was so comforting to me knowing she was there as my advocate but also there to give me strength. We were both physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got home around 8 p.m.

Due to the holiday weekend, results will not be in until the end of next week so another week of waiting. The doctor who performed the procedure stated in her summary report that they were able to biopsy one of the nodes and collected a large amount of tissue samples. They also took blood and will be submitting it for this new trial on biomarkers. This is called a liquid biopsy. Both tissue and liquid biopsies are used to test the mutations and biomarkers. The liquid biopsy tests the biomarkers on cancer cells that are circulating in the blood or for pieces of DNA from cancer cells that are in the blood. So, hopefully by the end of next week or the following week, there will be finally a plan and no more waiting.

Last night was rough, only got about 4 hours of sleep as my throat is really sore and woke me up every time I swallowed. This is common since they had to stick a tube down my throat. My mouth is raw as well but other than that, I feel fine. No pain in my lungs and my breathing feels normal.

Thank you all for your kind words, well-needed prayers and thoughtfulness yesterday. You may not know this but this blog helps me in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. I am alone here (with the exceptions of visitors here and there) and the loneliness only plays tricks on my emotions and thoughts. Having this blog and knowing people read it, makes me feel like I am not alone, ever. I have so many people out there that really care and it really does lift my spirits knowing this so, thank you!