Paul updated:2007.5.4

START here thymoma.de

Introduction:

Please, tell us your first name, gender and your age and maybe a short discribtion about yourself, family, profession, where you live......

Answer:
Paul
male 58 years old. I live and work in Arizona as an agronomist and crop advisor , I have 3 grown children, 2 grandchildren and a six year old son

Diagnosis:

1. How was your cancer detected?

X-ray showed a mass, CT scan confirmed. Doctor suspected lymphoma
Nov. 2001


2. Did you feel any kind of pain or did you notice a change of your body?

I had a constant cough and continuous pressure pain in my chest


3. Do you know your staging?

late stage 2


4. Do you have a family history of cancer?

yes, many including both parents and both grandparents


5. Did you have any kind of surgery before?

yes , heart , lung, 6 shoulder surgeries including replacement couple of "minor surgeries"


Treatment:

6. What kind of treatment did you receive (be as specific as possible)
I had 30 radiation treatments at 180 rad each 5400 total

-surgery (was your cancer invasive? which organs where involved?)

Tumor surrounded phrenic nerve there was too much scar tissue from previous surgeries to risk more excision plus since I only have one lobe on my right lung

the Dr. didn’t want to mess with the phrenic nerve
tumor not totally removed

-chemotherapie ( name the chemo and write down how many rounds you received)

none


-radiation (what dosis did you receive)

-or a different kind of treatment

5400 rad


Where there any kind of side effects involved in your treatment?

very few


7. Feelings - Emotions

What was your feeling when you heard your diagnosis?

( The answer to this question might be very helpful for all new patients!)

my feeling was that I had another challenge to get through and that I would succeed


How did you feel during your treatment

- For example: During chemo you might have felt nausiated

I felt okay, maybe a little tired towards the end


8. What was the most difficult part during your treatment

seeing the same people every day in the cancer center ,and watching them suffer with their treatments , and feeling guilty that it wasn’t affecting me much


9. Where were you treated (name the hospital with the full adress )

Answer:
Yuma Az.


10. If you can recommend your doctor let us know his/her name.

Answer:
retired


11. What tip could you give a new patient?

Answer:
be positive always, trust your doctor and listen to what he says


12. What bothered you the most during your treatment?

my son was less than a year old at the time,and maybe didn’t get the attention a 7 month old baby needs, except from my mother-in-law. Who was a Godsend


13. What helped you most during this period?

Answer:

having my wife with me every step ,every day

14. How're you feeling today?

okay


15. Tell us a bit about your check-ups?

- Where do you get your check-ups
yuma oncology

- How often do you go for a check up?
once a year now

- What do they do at your check up?
ct scan, blood work

I just had a round of CT scans ,Head ,Neck and chest last month,

everything clear of thymoma

16. How do you feel before you have to go to a check up

- Are you nervous, relaxed .....

not nervous, anxious


17. What do you do to make this time as easy as posssible?

- For example: You take a friend or relativ with you

Answer:
I think of how lucky I have been


18. Do you take any precautions to prevent the recurrence from cancer?

Answer:
not really


19. Have you made significant changes to your life after you got cancer?

Answer:
became much more informed about all cancers


20. How 're you feeling about the disease

- are you optimistic about outcome from your cancer

- are you more afraid that it might return

I am optimistic the thymoma will not return, I am not as optimistic about other cancers


21. Status - how is your progress?

ie. chemo didn't work, don't want to do surgery or radiation since it is too invasive at this point.

Answer:
Radiation seemed to have worked eliminating remaining cancer.

I have some fibrosis, bronchitis and bronchiectasis most likely from radiation treatments

22. Ideas/recommendation ...

Answer:


23. Leave your e-mail adress in case you want to get contacted from other thymoma patients.

pquick@roadrunner.com