TumorVille

I wanted to take a few moments and post a quick update. Things are going well right now. The past few days have been filled with many highs and lows, peaks and valleys, good times and bad times. [More]

Sadi and I just meet with Dr. Reid Lombardo and her entourage. The charismatic doctor was able to finesse, finagle and schmooze the other surgeons to join her on our date for this upcoming Thursday, October 14, 2010, first thing in the morning. [More]

My friend Teddy Spittal of BigHeadIs.com wants to buy my tumor; apparently he wants one of his own. [More]

Today was a day of meetings. No poking. No proding. No sticking. This could have been any other workday if we’d substituted the clinical setting with a cubical setting. That would be a bit weird, though. [More]

As the surgery date approaches, I have been thinking about the obscene amount entrails that will be displaced by the surgeon while carving out my tumor. And then there’s the whole deal with the tumor completely enveloping my vena cava like deep-fried corn on a hot-dog; that’s got to be like trying to scrape barnacles off a balloon. [More]

After talking with many people, we’ve made the decision to have my surgery performed at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota the first week of [More]

On Friday of last week we finally heard back from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Pittsburgh. The Mayo and U of Pitt are well-known for their ability to manage obscure cases like mine. While this is great news, it is also quite confusing. We’re excited because both clinics want me as a ... [More]

Dealing with pain management is a topic many of us feel uncomfortable around. We live healthy lifestyles where narcotics are only talked about when watching shows like The Shield or Scarface (or Breaking Bad). Pain management is a fact I now have to deal with until my surgery is scheduled. The... [More]

Even though my tumor is benign, this doesn't mean things are happy in TumorVille. The official diagnosis (as of today) is a Retroperitoneal Ganglioneuroma; generically, a Ganglioneuroma. As far as we know, I may have had the tumor for 10-15 years. And only now is it really starting to cause problems... [More]

We've been waiting this past week to hear from the specialist in Pittsburg I was referred to perform the operation. Today, we were finally able to contact him. My family is overnighting him my medical files. Hopefully we'll have some good news early next week of whether or not he'll be taking me on ... [More]