Had a Zoom call with SLC up in the bedroom. Maureen and Trixie were here. Bottom line: it’s an aggressive tumor, probably malignant, but not metastatic, in both legs. Rather than do a biopsy before proceeding he recommends surgery as soon as possible. He will do one leg at a time. The term is arthroplasty and it’s a major surgery involving replacement of the infected parts of the knee, femur, and tibia with metal parts. It sounds like four to five days per surgery, although whether immediately sequential I don’t know.
Assuming success, I can be up and about in the fall. Success rate? Risks? Potential complications? Hard to say, it seems like it’s worth a go. If I expire during surgery then that’s OK for me too, I guess. Not so much for Maureen and Miranda. It’s going to be interesting to find out how much all of this is going to cost!
The first surgery is scheduled for June 11th, so they cancelled the appointment for MGH on the 9th. I do have to have another MRI though, this one is scheduled for the 7th. I also have to have a bunch of tests.
In preparation for surgery I bought a Kindle. Curtis and Lori also lent me a pair of Bose headphones, so I’m way better prepared for hospital than I was back in 2005 when I was being treated for Burkitt’s Lymphoma at Brigham and Women’s. I also feel better than I did back then. Wonder how long that’ll last!
