Vic Fazio

Always interested in public service, Vic has found several ways to check out our beleaguered health care system since September. At that time, doctors found a mass in his lung, which was diagnosed as a likely  benign infection. He went through a series of tests, scans and probes, culminating in a bronchoscopy (biopsy) and “full body” PET scan that showed no cancer. We were greatly relieved.

Then, a few weeks ago, his right arm started to feel weak. It eventually became dead weight. We had been in consultation with doctors, but at that point, we decided we needed to act more aggressively. Vic went to Urgent Care at Kaiser last Wednesday, Dec. 8, expecting to return home that day after getting an MRI. Instead, he was admitted to Virginia Hospital Center. After more scans, on Friday, Dec. 10, doctors informed us that he had multiple lesions in his brain, one of which was causing the problem with his arm and hand. On Tuesday, Dec. 14, doctors performed a needle biopsy of the mass in his lung that had previously seemed benign. We are currently waiting for the results of that procedure. The main question, doctors say, is whether the brain lesions are metastasized from a melanoma (he has had several removed over the years) or from lung cancer. The former is preferable, doctors say, in terms of treatment options.

Looking on the bright side, Vic says, “Now I have an excuse for my lousy golf swing.”

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