Sugery cancelled

[Faith in Him]

Well, no surgery for me tomorrow. I have a really bad cough and very low red blood counts. Tomorrow I will have a blood transfusion.

ALSO.........my chest x-ray showed a tiny pleural effusion. It is so small that they can not drain it. I will have another ct scan that should define the area better. They are not sure if it is cancer. I will have a muga to determine heart function and my EKG showed my heart beats at 130 per minute which is high. Dr thinks it may be related to poor heart function. Has anyone had a pleural effusion that was not cancerous?

Just a little worried right now.

Tonya

[Sherryg683]

Yep, I"ve had several through the years that never lit up on the pet scan, although they were mentioned on the CT. They'd be gone by the next scan. My Oncologist has never been worried about anything that didn't light up. There are other things that cause effusions beside cancer. Try not to worry too much till something is determined for sure. Especially with it being so small, they will keep an eye on it. Have they done a PET/CT?...sherryg683

[Mary Jo]

Dear Tonya,

I'm so sorry this has all happened. How frustrating and worrisome for you. I can only imagine.

Tonya, I have prayed that this situation will resolve itself quickly and that surgery will be able to happen soon.

I'm sorry Tonya....I truly am.

Wrapping you in prayer dear friend,

Mary Jo

[Mary Anne in TX]

When I read your post, my heart wanted to sink into sadness for you, but I got so mad about it, that's all I could do. Darn, darn, darn. More delays! Well, maybe you have to wait a bit more, but I'm betting everything will get fixed up for you. My heart beat like crazy fast while I was on Navelbine and Herceptin. Kept thinking it would just pop out of me! I don't know one thing about the pleural effusion but I love that they are attacking it quickly. Tonya, I know your count is low and you're sick. So is that why they are doing the transfusion? Your counts are really low?
I just want to stand and scream to that ol' set of lungs and heart to shape up, "the lady has a life to live and an adorable family to love on"!
You're tough, Tonya, and full of purpose! Get determined to have your way in all this, girl! I'll be thinking wonderful thoughts for ya and praying for the doctors to be wise and creative with their care for you. Tons of love being sent your way today & all the upcoming ones as you win your battle. ma

[Believe51]

Sorry to hear of your complications regarding your journey. We are here to say that YES, Ed had a 'Pleural Thoracentisis' done since he did have pleural effusions on the chest wall that was where the inflammatory BC showed up in the beginning.

And NO, Sweetheart......no malignant cells....yeehaa!!

My wishes are that the same holds true for you. Keep us posted on your new path on this journey. I am so sorry for the delays but thankful that they spotted issues beforehand. Right now I will be praying for good heart function and no malignant cells. Lots of Love>>Believe51

[Colleens_Husband]

Dear Tonya:

I am sorry that all this is happening to you. I know that delays and worrying are often times more taxing than the surgery itself.

I hope and pray that things will settle down quickly so you can get your life back.

Lee

[lexigirl]

Oh Tonya, I can feel your disappointment! I am hopeful that the surgery will be back on schedule really soon.

Saying prayers fro healing to your lungs and no more ca!

HUgs,
Lexi

[juanita]

Tonya i am so sorry things had to be postponed. Hopefully you'll feel better soon and things will get rescheduled.

[Soccermom]

Tonya ,
the waiting really stinks, doesnt it? I am so sorry for the delay but hopefully this will give your Docs a chance to boost your counts and strength so that you'll recover from surgery faster. I sure hope so!
Big hug, Marcia

[goops]

I am so sorry to hear of your problems - I hope everything turns out OK for you.

[Bill]

Tonya, please add me to the long list of those praying for you and your family. Love, Bill

[Becky]

Dear Tonya

I am sorry about your setback but remember, its just alittle setback. That post surgical bloodwork is done for a reason and that's so you heal well and gain your strength back quickly after surgery. And a bit of pleural effusion can mean nothing at all.

Get that red count up! Did your doc have you take Slow FE (iron) or B12. I know the transfusion will work well (but - hint, hint - it takes all day to get a pint transfused as they drip it in a drop a minute (practically)).

Have heart and keep faithful and strong. I know you will. This is pass and you will move onto surgery. I just know that it is scary and more than just worrisome but you will make it through and past this obstacle.

Huge hug and love to you

[PinkGirl]

Hi Faith
Sorry about all of this. You always sound so strong and
determined and organized - I know you will get through
this glitch and be strong for the surgery when the day
arrives.

Becky gave some good advice regarding nutrition but did
you know that there are essential trace elements of iron
in chocolate???? You'd have to eat quite a bit of it but
I could do it :)

Good luck with all of this and please keep us posted.

[Mary Anne in TX]

Tonya!
How was the blood transfusion. Surely have been thinking good thoughts for you!
ma

[Faith in Him]

Hi Mary Anne,

Thanks for checking on me. So I'll make a long story short. I went to my onc. the next day for the blood transfusion. He told me my blood count was 9.7 to good for a blood transfusion. (I'm not sure what the Surgeon was looking at.) But I had the bad cough and shortness of breath which I thought was caused by the low red blood count. Onc. got very concerned and ordered a ct scan immediately since he though I may have a blood clot. The ct scan did not show a blood clot nor did it show the plureal effusion. It did show hazziness in both lungs but no masses.

The hazziness can be cause by three things: the disease, an reaction to the chemo, or an infection. So I am on meds right now and they have seemed to help a little. I meet with the lung specialist soon. I am praying that it is not the disease.

I'll keep you posted. What a roller coaster!

Hugs,
Tonya

[swimangel72]

Hi Tonya - I hope the meds get you back to normal so you can proceed with your surgery. I went into my surgery with a 100.4 fever and no one blinked an eye (well, the nurse did for a minute, but since I wasn't coughing at that time, the anesthesiologist said I was good to go.) The bad news is that I ended up very sick after my surgery - when I couldn't cough due to abdominal pain after the Diep, and my leg swelled up, I was back in the ER because I thought I had a blood clot. Turned out I actually had a staph infection.........so, the lesson learned is to NEVER proceed with surgery if you are even slightly sick. Your immune system will have enough to contend with recovering from surgery! "Haste makes waste" - so take it easy Tonya and try to rest and eat well and get better soon!

[Mary Anne in TX]

Well, in another place and time, who would be praying for an infection??? Well, I will! Hope the meds knock the socks off the infection and get you back on the path to surgery! Isn't it just amazing how 1 set of eyes sees one thing and another set sees something else completely!!! You're closer today than yesterday. It's like going to Denver to get to Houston and you live in Florida! But you're getting there, girl!!!! ma