Biquette's 2022 Christmas card and good news!

[Blicj11]

Terrific initial report, Edouard!

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat faithful,

Alas, I am continuing to have health misfortunes.  In mid-April, I was diagnosed with a hernia.  It was not too serious, so I couldn't get an appointment with the surgeon until mid-May.  However before I could schedule that surgery, a routine skin check turned up a melanoma tumor on my left ear.  A melanoma had been removed from that ear in 2021, so the concern is that the melanoma had come back and may have spread.  That triggered a more aggressive response.  I was sent to an oncologist and surgeon of the head and neck.  He will remove the new tumor on my ear, but he will also do what is called a nodal biopsy.  To do this, they will inject a radioactive tracer in the area of the tumor the day before.  That tracer will be carried to lymph node in my neck where any cancer would have spread.  The surgeon will remove that node identified by the tracer and have it checked for melanoma.  If there isn't any cancer in the lymph node, hopefully they will have solved the problem.  If there is, then more cancer treatments will be necessary. 

The surgery is this Friday the 16th, so I would appreciate if folks could keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for your support,

Edouard

P.S. Somehow the hernia will have to be repaired sometime after that.

[Blicj11]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop Edouard. You are in my prayers and I am joining you in hoping for the best possible outcome. Cancer is no fun .

[xairbusdriver]

Adding you to my daily prayer list... again!

You have confirmed my philosophy of avoiding doctors. Their offices are always full of sick people!!

[elagache]

Dear Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat faithful,

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes.

I got home from the surgery center about 2-1/2 hours ago.  The doctor thought the procedure went well and he thought he did a good job reconstructing that ear.  It has been already damaged by removing the first melanoma and a basal cell tumor back in the autumn of 2021.  I hope he actually made some improvements over what it looked like before.

So it is time to recover and wait for the biopsy results next week.

Thanks again,

Edouard

[Blicj11]

Great report. Let's hope the biopsy report and ear appearance follow suit.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat faithful,

I had a one week follow-up appointment with the doctor who removed my melanoma from my left ear.  The news is mostly good, but not quite.  Most importantly, the cancer had not spread into my lymph system and he successfully removed the tumor from my ear with clear edges.  However, the skin that he removed had some additional "noninvasive melanoma" spots on the tip of my ear.  I didn't even know there was such a thing as "noninvasive melanoma" until this appointment.  Apparently it is the very early start of melanoma before it can get harmful.  As such it doesn't require a quick response.  Alas, it still has to be removed and can only be removed by the same sort of surgery under general anesthesia.  The doctor wants to wait a few months so the ear can get fully healed up.  My ear is so badly damaged at this point that a skin graft may be needed to repair it for this subsequent surgery.

In the meantime, the doctor cleared me to go ahead the surgery to repair my hernia.  It is scheduled for the second week of August.  My poor body sure is being pushed very hard by all these surgeries.  I sure hope these doctors know what they are doing, because I'm already feeling exhausted.

Still, I guess I cannot complain too much given how much worse things could have turned out.  I'll hold the course and take the blows as they come.

Thanks for your support!

Edouard

[Blicj11]

Thank you for sharing this summary of your cancer adventure. It is a blessing to have access to modern medical technology. I will continue to add my faith and prayers on your  behalf.

[xairbusdriver]

Thanks for the good news! As for your ears, perhaps a "new fashion look" would help! Here are a couple of suggestions. Apparently, your choice of necklace is also important!

[elagache]

Thanks Blick and X-Air for your prayers and positive thoughts!

As for your ears, perhaps a "new fashion look" would help! Here are a couple of suggestions.

*Sigh*, Definitely not my cup of tea.  However, once this is all said and done, I might indeed allow my hair to be a little longer around my ears.  I'm sure it would cheaper and less painful than any sort of cosmetic plastic surgery!

Thanks again,

Edouard

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat community,

July has come and past and the melanoma surgeon was pleased with how my ear healed from that surgery.  The time has come to finally repair the hernia that was diagnosed all the way back at the beginning of May.  That surgery is scheduled at 7am this upcoming Tuesday.  The family health situation has further degraded so basically I had little choice but hire some home care giving services for all of next week.  I've never had abdominal surgery before, but judging from the heavy-duty pain medications, it cannot be anything but a serious body-blow.  Unfortunately, i haven't really recovered from the previous surgeries and am already feeling exhausted.  Definitely not the best situation to be in before a major surgery like this.

So, I would like to ask you-all to keep me in your thoughts and prayers,

Thanks for your support!

Edouard

[xairbusdriver]

You are in my daily prayers. 👍 I would also recommend some visits to your favorite high-priced restaurant! 😋

[elagache]

Thanks X-Air for your prayers and support,

I would also recommend some visits to your favorite high-priced restaurant! 😋

Well, I’m not supposed to drive for about a week.  So instead we will be having dinner from some of our favorite restaurants delivered.  Next best thing!

Edouard

[Blicj11]

You are in my prayers for a safe surgery and quick recovery. You've had your share of medical adventures. Let's keep this one safe and simple.

[elagache]

Dear Blick and WeatherCat faithful,

You are in my prayers for a safe surgery and quick recovery. You've had your share of medical adventures. Let's keep this one safe and simple.

Regrettably, indeed I am way over my quota of medical misfortunes.  Thanks to you and everyone for your concern and prayers.  Yesterday's surgery went off without a hitch and I was home by 10am or so.  There was some discomfort yesterday, but that has already calmed down.  The prescribed pain medication is giving me some trouble with lightheadedness.  However, I'm feeling almost no pain, so side-effect seems like a small price to pay.

We are lucky to have a caregiver assigned to us this week who is a nice and capable woman.  So we seem to be in as good a shape as could be expected given the situation.  I'll be taking it easy until the first part of next week.  We will have groceries delivered this week and will have meals delivered from local restaurants until at least Thursday.

That's the situation after 24 hours.  Thanks again.

Edouard