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An update: Serious health problems, but okay for now
8 years ago
General
It's been a interesting spring. Here's a little update on what happened.
I had a wonderful time at Furnal Equinox, but a week after returning from Toronto, I came down with hepatitis. We later determined that it was a random infection and not one of the scarier forms of it (that is, it was not type A, B, or C, so my liver should be fine), but I was extremely sick and had a very high fever that alternated with chills almost non-stop for 4 days. I took 7 days off of work, and then worked from home for an additional 9 days.
My doctor wasn't sure if I may have had a gall stone, so he ordered a CT scan. When he got the results for my follow-up appointment, he told me, "Okay, we have several things we need to discuss today," which is never a good beginning to a conversation.
The CT scan turned up a suspicious lesion on my liver that had a serious concern for malignancy. Certainly a bombshell that I never expected to hear.
My doctor emphasized that even if it was malignant, we found it at such an early stage that the lobe of the liver could be removed and I would be completely cured. And, that being the case, he pointed out that if it is indeed cancer, then I had "the most serendipitous infection ever" because the lesion is completely unrelated to my illness, but we never would have found it if I had not become sick. At the behest of the radiologist, he ordered a follow-up MRI.
The MRI was unfortunately not conclusive, but it does NOT look like cancer. Also unfortunately, a needle biopsy is impossible because the lesion is very near to the lung and a branch of the portal vein, so the best course is to have a follow-up MRI (which will occur in August) and then take further action from there, if necessary. If the lesion appears to have grown, then I may need an open biopsy (a prospect I am not looking forward to).
TL;DR : I had a cancer scare. From what I know now, it's extremely unlikely to be cancer (my doctor estimates between 1% and 5% chance), but I do not yet know for sure.
Fun times. See you all at Anthrocon?
I had a wonderful time at Furnal Equinox, but a week after returning from Toronto, I came down with hepatitis. We later determined that it was a random infection and not one of the scarier forms of it (that is, it was not type A, B, or C, so my liver should be fine), but I was extremely sick and had a very high fever that alternated with chills almost non-stop for 4 days. I took 7 days off of work, and then worked from home for an additional 9 days.
My doctor wasn't sure if I may have had a gall stone, so he ordered a CT scan. When he got the results for my follow-up appointment, he told me, "Okay, we have several things we need to discuss today," which is never a good beginning to a conversation.
The CT scan turned up a suspicious lesion on my liver that had a serious concern for malignancy. Certainly a bombshell that I never expected to hear.
My doctor emphasized that even if it was malignant, we found it at such an early stage that the lobe of the liver could be removed and I would be completely cured. And, that being the case, he pointed out that if it is indeed cancer, then I had "the most serendipitous infection ever" because the lesion is completely unrelated to my illness, but we never would have found it if I had not become sick. At the behest of the radiologist, he ordered a follow-up MRI.
The MRI was unfortunately not conclusive, but it does NOT look like cancer. Also unfortunately, a needle biopsy is impossible because the lesion is very near to the lung and a branch of the portal vein, so the best course is to have a follow-up MRI (which will occur in August) and then take further action from there, if necessary. If the lesion appears to have grown, then I may need an open biopsy (a prospect I am not looking forward to).
TL;DR : I had a cancer scare. From what I know now, it's extremely unlikely to be cancer (my doctor estimates between 1% and 5% chance), but I do not yet know for sure.
Fun times. See you all at Anthrocon?
I can't wait to see you next time! Stay well.
You're so young, Soba, to be experiencing scary forms of sickness!
Really sorry that you cam down with hepatitis after spending the weekend at Furnal Equinox. Eeep! Sounds like you had a rough few weeks after FE!
It's always scary to think about these health situations.
Stay healthy and strong! I want to see you for many many years decades etc!
*hugs*
Stay well and I look forward to seeing you. :)
I am hoping for things to calm down by con time. I still have some moving to do from storage, but I'm going to take my time.
I do sincerely hope that the lesion is benign. :< Stay strong, dear Bear! Kick these infections out of the water, you hear? //hugs tight
In this case, it was just a random virus. No treatment was necessary except patience, rest, and a lot of fluids. Aside from now having a head cold, all seems well with the hepatitis and it should not bother me again (until the next time I'm unlucky enough to catch such a virus).
See you soon, I hope!
Thank you for your good wishes, as always. It's been a rough time, but things are looking up. I hope you're doing well, yourself!
See you soon. :)
I hope to see you at AC, if you can all make it!
Things will most likely work out just fine. I'll know more soon, though I need to get poked and prodded a lot more before we reach a firm conclusion. Not exactly my favorite pastime. :P
Thank you for your support. Can't wait to see you next month!
HUGS....
BIG ones!
You were always an absolute pleasure to meet at FE. I really do wish for you a swift recovery...
Please do take care Soba! I would be deeply saddened if anything really bad happened ☹
Thank you for your support and all the kind words. I always love your company (and I wish I could see you more often)!
As you know, I was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer five years ago. They caught it early, treated me, and now after five years it looks very very good to have zero reoccurrence.
I know about biopsies, because that's how they found my prostate cancer; and it is no fun. Hopefully they can pin your situation down without being too invasive and list this thing as benign.
And while I'm no expert on situations regarding the liver, I have heard that the liver is the only organ in the body that can literally regenerate itself.
Best wishes on it being absolutely nothing.
My money is on it being nothing to worry about. I would prefer reaching that conclusion without my innards being exposed to the air, so I will do my best to get into better health between now and August in order to make things as clear as possible.
I hope to see you soon. :)
As for cancer scares, I had a colonoscopy in my early 40's due to my father
having polyps removed just shy of malignancy, and a friend of the family
who wasn't so lucky.
When I went in, the doctor gave me grief, and didn't want me back until I was over 50.
After the colonoscopy...removed a polyp, see you in 3 years.
If I hadn't gone in early, it might have had the 10 or so years needed to turn
malignant.
At least they found whatever it was early. All the best.
Thank you for the good wishes. :)
I really can't wait to see you and catch up. I'll be at AC all weekend. I actually live even closer now than I did last year; 10 minutes and I'm at the convention center.
We plan to arrive at the Hampton Inn late Thursday afternoon sometime (I wish I could find out how long pre-registration will be open). We'll probably stay until Sunday afternoon as usual.
Anyway I wish you get better soon, always hope the best for you, Soba senpai :D
I hope you're well!