It has a very good week of multiple visits with my friends at the Mayo Clinic. Tuesday was a treatment day - and, yes, I had a lovely Benadryl-induced nap. I was back again on Wed. to meet with the radiation oncologist about spot welding my cancer-harboring lymph nodes. Dr. Olivier thought the best plan was to remove the lymph nodes - they are easy to access - and then “mop up” with only a couple of radiation treatments. Using less radiation now would leave the door open to treat this area with additional radiation if needed down the road.

Then the true magic of Mayo kicked in. Dr. Olivier paged and immediately spoke with Ailsa my PA who endorsed this idea. Then Dr. Olivier paged and immediately spoke to the ENT I already had an appointment with the next day to discuss options for strengthening my voice. She also endorsed this plan. So in my 30 minute appointment with Dr. Olivier, a new treatment plan had been developed in consultation with my PA and an ENT doc. Where else would that happen other than at Mayo?

So Thursday I was back at Mayo again to meet with Dr. Bukowski, the ENT. Now this meeting was a two-fer. We discussed the options for strengthening my voice (the original plan for this appointment) AND removing the lymph nodes. So on June 3rd Dr. Bukowski will remove the lymph nodes and, while I am already under anesthesia, she will inject my left vocal cord with a material that will stiffen it and,  hopefully, increase the strength of my voice. (A reminder that my left vocal cord is paralyzed from the chest tumor pressing on the nerve that controls it).

A huge thank you to Cheryl, Dorothy, and Ann who were my Mayo drivers and companions this week. Happy Memorial Weekend to all!