Off to Standford Medical soon

[GiveMeFreedom]

Hi All,

Looks like my docs do not know what type of cancer I have or if it is malignant or benign. My oncologist, Dr. Gary Shi, believes all the tests and scans point towards a malignant type. The pathology department at The Mayo Clinic looked at the lab results and came up blank, supposedly. Now the doc is sending me to Standford Medical to have them take a biopsy (3rd one) and see if they can get a diagnosis. Anyone have any experience with Stanford? Wish to get some do's and dont's and what I should be asking these doctors. Oh, the tumor I have is on my ilium (pelvis bone) and part of my hip bone, I believe that's what the doc said. The cat, mri, pet, bone density scans all show a major lesion on both sides of the pelvis on the right side. I am not scared at all at this time and can still walk with the aid of cane.

As a side note, my wife, kids and I went to Yosemite National Park last year (was beautiful) and she picked up a rather nice walking stick (a la natural) as a souvenir to bring home. She spent quite some time sanding and smoothing that stick. When the time came for me to give in to the urge to use an aid for walking, I naturally grabbed the walking stick and started using it. A bit clumsy and awkward to use for a person who is not 100% bipedal. I then went and spent a few dollars on a real (aluminum) cane at the local CVS. It was a big improvement in my cornering abilities and much lighter than the stick. My youngest son noticed the switch right away and he says "I see you went from playing Gandalf to Dr. House" I still chuckle when I think of what he said.

Cheers

On edit: Vi co din makes my spell ing fun ny so I corr ected a few mis takes.

[rfranklin]

1. Good luck...

Hope all turns out well.

[madrchsod]

2. hope it works out in your favor and...

house was the first thing i thought of about the cane...

[tularetom]

3. Good luck neighbor

I don't think you could be treated at a better facility. My daughter underwent treatment there for a tumor on her thyroid and she seems to have experienced a complete recovery (+5 years).

[KT2000]

4. Best of luck to you

Real life is not much like the medical shows on tv - my brother had to go through many biopsies and disagreement among doctors for his diagnosis, which was no cancer. I hope you get that result too.

[applegrove]

5. vibes!

[mike_c]

6. best of luck to you!

[midnight]

7. I hope all is helpful to you and your family with this next step...

Take care...

[Peregrine Took]

8. Best of luck! You will certainly be in the very best hands at Sanford. n/t

[azurnoir]

9. Best of Luck and hope for you and family n/t

[niyad]

10. best of luck--hope they can figure it out, and get you the healing you need.

[Kceres]

11. Best of luck. Please keep us posted. Now I'm curious. nt

[emilyg]

12. Best to you.

[Dorian Gray]

13. Good luck at Stanford Medical

I don't have any advice, but I sincerely hope your prognosis is good.