Monday, January 18 at 1:29pm - Jim

I will take this morning's update as (relatively) good news. The head-to-toe CT scan (with contrast dyes) did not show any other cancers. The mylogram (dyes in the spine CT scan) showed the 1 spinal lesion/mass located at T-4 (mid back). It is outside the dura (sheath covering spinal nerves), and we believe it is the primary cancer. And it may ... not be a cancer, but a myeloma instead. The scans did show dad has some emphysema, a disease of the lung tissue caused by destruction of structures feeding the alveoli, obviously from smoking for almost 50 years. Today dad is having a biopsy by needle. The pathologists will have a report in 2 days, and we will discuss a treatment plan with the neurosurgeons (could be either/and/or surgery, esp since outside dura, radiation therapy, etc). Meanwhile dad is doing much better with the hospital scene, team of doctors & nurses, and pain meds, etc... Again I take this as good news that we don't have another major cancer in lungs, prostate, brain, etc! The odds were 90% in that favor - against us. Thank you Jesus!