Dr. Lee called me today. She announced that the blood tests came back just as we would expect them to. Now that the primary tumor has been removed, the tumor burden markers are decreased, but not gone.
The second CT scan (this one is of my upper chest, while the first CT scan was from the bottom of the lungs down) registered "tiny nodes" on both of my lungs. I guess they are like tiny tumors or something. They are "tiny" because they are only a few millimeters end to end.
With this new information, we can see that radiation is not going to be the most effective treatment. If the cancer is in my lymph nodes as well as my lungs, then it could be anywhere, microscopic, just waiting to dig in it's heels. Chemotherapy treats the whole body... so that's what we're going to do. Fortunately, the doctor says that this type of cancer (Seminoma) is VERY responsive to both chemo and radiation. They expect to see it all disappear within a couple of months.
December 31st, we will plan my treatment calendar.
; )
