A little more information we got on Friday afternoon...

Hi all!

Well, we waited around the house all day Friday, staring at the phone, waiting for the Dr.'s assistant to call us about when the biopsy would occur.

But by 4:15 pm, no one had called.

I am not one for standing a lot of suspense, and I wasn't about to go through the whole weekend waiting for this info, so I courageously made Bill call them. (hahaha. That's the best kind of courage: make Bill do it.)

We did get through to the assistant, so, after two conversations with her, we got all the newest information.

Don't prepare to feel uplifted--it wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't really great.

Wellllll, she says, nowwwwwww there's a question that has arisen as to the possible unfortunate location of the lumps on the liver. The (check out this title) Interventionalist Radiologist is concerned that the lumps are in a place that is so inaccessible that not only might we NOT be able to do a biopsy, but we might also NOT be able to do a needle ablation (I was spelling it wrong: it's Ablation, not Oblation), AND we might not even be able to do surgery.

Wow.

Buzzkill.

Luckily, we had this in TWO conversations, and I was able to google like a wild woman between the conversations and grasp more of the situation, and be ready with questions during phone call number two, a few minutes later.

Ultimately, here's the boildown:

If they can't do a biopsy, then how can they know what the lumps are with certainty? Answer: Bill is getting an MRI to determine with more certainty whether the lumps are cancer or cysts. Also there are blood & chemical tests for determining facts about the lumps.

How can there be an unreachable part of any human organ?

Answer: The liver is positioned between a bunch of essential and delicate organs, veins, tubes, drains, whatever. A patient should be awake for a biopsy or needle ablation because they have to hold their breath, because if they breathe while the needle is in, it can drag the needle across the liver, or pierce other organs, etc. So some locations on the liver just can't be reached with sharp objects.

And all needle procedures on the liver are done with a guiding visual machine--either a CT or ultrasound--to guide the exact placement of the needle. If the lumps are not visible on at least ONE of the visual aid machines, they can't put the needle in.

So if it turns out he can't have anything done--no biopsy, no ablation, no surgery--then what?

Then, she said, just chemo.

So when will we know more, I asked, after thanking her PROFUSELY for talking to us on a Friday afternoon and not making us wait through a whole weekend...

She will call us Monday or Tuesday, but she can't do anything until these doctors reach an opinion about the location and accessibility of the lumps.

So there you go.

As always, THANK YOU for caring, especially enough to read these long ramblings.
We love you so much.
Yippee ti-yi-yo...we're gonna get along, little dogies....one way or another!
God is good.
Beth and Billyo