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For several months Tom has been tired more than usual.
The normal pain in his back and neck were getting worse.
The SF VA took ex-rays and determined he had severe arthritis in his neck.
We and his VA doctors had known about this for quite a while.
The SF VA doctors recommended Pain Clinic across town at Sanford Hospital see him and give him injections in his neck. That relieved his pain for a while.
Back in Rogers, AR his primary doctor here recommended he see a pain management doctor.
The pain doctor gave him shots in his lower back.
This pain doctor also ordered an MRI.
When he went back to the pain doctor to get the MRI results, the doctor was clearly surprised and upset at the MRI findings. The MRI showed probable metastatic cancer or multiple myeloma. The doctor referred him to a great, young, female Oncologist.
The oncologist talked with him about the MRI report. She ordered a CT Scan. When we went to see her about the CT Scan report, she told us on Friday, January 27th, that Tom has stage V small cell cancer of the lungs with metastatic cancer to his neck/shoulder bones and his lower back bone and probably other arreas in his body. She recommended started chemo treatments ASAP. Tom started chemo the following Tuesday, Janary 31st.
His regime at this time will be one week of 3 sessions of chemo, two weeks off and another 3 sessions of chemo in one week, etc. until he has had 12 sessions of chemo. This will go until the end of March. At this time the oncologist will reasses the findings at that time.
Tom has completed his first week of 3 chemo treaments with no side effects. Today, Friday, February 3rd, Tom had a PET Scan. We will find out the results of that test next Tuesday when we meet with his oncologist.
Tom and the oncologist are both positive people. Tom is planning to live to 85 or longer.
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