INSOMNIACS place to talk in the wee hours

Hello Fellow Insomniacs,

I saw the Mayo neurologist & neurosurgeon this morning. After my initial eval. they told me I am NOT a candidate for the surgery the neuro back in Oregon had proposed doing. It is a VERY massive surgery requiring my chest being opened up to access my spine.

My tumor is still contained within my vertebrae, but not yet affecting my spinal cord or any of the nerve roots coming from my spine. I am having an MRI tomorrow to see better what is going on, before they make any suggestions as to alternative/less invasive treatments.

They said that with a few exceptions, they DO NOT use bone scans to follow a patient with mets to the bone. Mayo uses MRI & PET almost exclusively. They said that bone scans tend to show too many false positives, and therefore are unreliable.

Also, for some reason my L5 is lit up like a Christmas tree, so they want to check that out as well.

I am glad I did not have the surgery back home. The neurologist said they see lots of patients that come to Mayo after having spine surgery for cancer after their local surgeons have messed them up and need corrective surgery.

It is soooo hot & humid here. I do not know how people survive here. However, some locals told me that the weather at this point is pretty good compared to what they have usually. Yikes!

Ok, that's all for now. Goodnight everyone.

Hi all! Been busy again so life has kept me away from here. Will check in more.

👍. You posted how hot and humid it was and I thought you were at Mayo here in Jacksonville, FL. It is really hot and humid here.

Prayers for you and your team of doctors🙏

Barbara

Kathy- I am so sorry about the loss of your husband. Sending much love to you and your family during this time of loss

You make some very good points about the DNR

Kath, so sorry to hear about your husband's passing.

kathindc....so sorry to hear about your husband. My prayers are with you.

Smarty...beautify picture

I have a pretty DNR bracelet. Right wrist cause that is where they take pulse I was told. It is actually pretty cool. It is made so it doesn't slip going around your wrist. So the ID part is always on the inside, where they would do your pulse.

Ladies, thank you for your prayers and condolences. It's helping me immensely with the healing process of loss.

Susan, I was thinking of the DNR bracelet or necklace and adding my medicine allergy and two of my health issues that I'm most concerned about in case I'm incapacitated. Still leaning toward the tattoo as a back up. May I ask where you got your bracelet.

Kathincdc, the place is Lauren's hope. Not cheap.....but many designs. This is mine

The underside is the ID ta

Hello everyone,

The MRI went well on Wednesday. On Thursday I went to the Neurology Dept. (without an appt.) and asked if I could get an appt to speak to the neurologist. They asked me to wait in the lobby and approx. 30 min. later I was called in to see the neurologist. I waited another 20 min. and the neuro came and showed me my MRI results. My tumor can be seen in the center of my T11, plus I have spondylosis in my Lumbar spine (it's a mess, but no cancer in the lumbar spine).

The neuro and I had an in depth conversation about cryo-ablation of the bone & vertebroplasty, then he made several phone calls right there in front of me. The one doctor here who does this procedure is out of the clinic until the 23rd, but his nurse called him and he agreed to do it. So I'll be here another week. I have 3 appts. on Monday, 1 on Tuesday, none on Wednesday (so far), procedure on Thursday, plus I'll probably spend the night in the hospital since this procedure is done under general anesthesia.

Discharged on Friday, PICC line removed, then I'll return to the hotel and rest for the rest of the day & Saturday. Then on Sunday I will fly home to Oregon.

I have been incredibly fortunate to get all of this accomplished in 2 weeks. The Amer. Cancer Soc. was able to help me with 8 days of my hotel stay, but today they let me know they are unable to help with the last 5 days. So I will have to pay for those days. Even so, I am thankful to have this opportunity.

Yesterday I made several phone calls back home to see if there is any doctor who performs cryoablation of a bone w/ vertebroplasty, but I couldn't find one. There are doctors that do Interventional Radiology back home, but none that are Neuro-Interventional Radiologists like the doctor here at Mayo. So it is worth staying here to have it done here.

It rained a bunch yesterday and was much cooler & pleasant here today.

While Rochester is a very nice and clean city, the cost of living here is very high. One nurse told me that the amount of money here in Rochester is mind boggling and that is why it costs so much to live here.

Okay, that's all for now and I will bid you all goodnight.

JunieB

Junie- good to see you are getting excellent care and have a plan now too. Sending you much love for a good procedure with excellent outcomes.

The pics of the little ones are so lovely!

I am going out of town and will be off line for a few weeks but will check back in here by Labor Day weekend. Until then, wishing you all the best for the rest of August!

Hi ladies, I have been off the boards awhile, but I have popped in here in the past, and I wanted to share my joy. I am celebrating 5 years cancer free, 5 years since diagnosis with Triple Negative Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I feel very blessed. Just wanted to share. My prayers and hugs to all who are in treatment, new diagnosis, experiencing loss.

Meadow!!!! So happy to see your sweet face. Even more happy with your milestones. Lovely picture. I get to do it in 12 months Finger crossed.

Dsgirl- hej! Hvordan har du det ? Ok, that's all I know. Don't answer in Danish.