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Robert, thank you.
I hardly know what to
say. Thursday with the PET image up we were assured that I had cancer all over
my torso. The only problem facing the oncologist is that they were small
and he worried about how to get a biopsy. He sent me over to the blood draw for
12 or 14 vials. 8 had been my limit before this, months ago, checking CK. Over the weekend he texted (the first text we ever received--we learned for him) that
there was a tumor in the gastro-intestinal area. Then this noon he telephoned.
He had received some of the lab results back. I had TB in the 1950s, but the TB
was still dormant. He tested for some long coccid . . word which I have
not learned yet . . . and found that I had antibodies for Valley Fever. He decided
that all the little cancers were really Valley Fever points. Now, that leaves
me with the possible loss of the good right eye. We need to find someone to see
if it is also a result of Valley Fever and we need to see if someone can remove
the brown liquid without damaging the center of vision. I have already taken 2
Fluconazole (maybe misspelled) pills and will take 2 more tonight. Big
bottle--30 day supply. So we are back worrying about my loss of vision, and
wondering who to trust. The local oncologist seemed quite admirable to both of
us--but he was fooled (if he was) by the PET scan. Still, he asked for a
check of that antibody and found antibodies. The great man in Stanford dropped
the ball in several ways, including a rush to assume that cancer in the eye
meant cancer in the body. I don't want to go back to him for surgery. If there
is surgery. Maybe the eye will begin to respond to the anti fungal drug?
We just told people
the bad news--as I told you last night. We are not talking about this till we
know more. I am still greatly concerned about my vision. We behaved, I
will tell you, much better than anyone had any right to expect. I was astounded
and indignant sure, after all the steamed broccoli decade after decade and no
alcohol at all since 1986, and running since 1978 until I changed to walking
three or four years ago. I was all set to outlive my mother, 92 and a few
months. Heddy took it harder. I began working every day on the book I want to
write, and have gotten seriously into it. This morning I worked 3 hours with a
patch over my right eye, to rest it. Anyhow, what I did was go to work. It was
very strange to be more than a little angry that I should have cancer, after
all that running, but I was laughing at the absurdity of it. So the
upshot is that I may have cancer of the eye but probably do not have cancer in
the body. The eye is in doubt, and I am going to take 2 more magical
anti-fungal pills tonight. In Stanford Heddy said, He can't have
cancer--look at him. Of course I had a big mask on, but I absolutely agreed
with her! Do you think it possible that Valley Fever could resemble cancer
on a PET scan? . . . .
Hershel
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