So we got the results of the pathology report back, and we are most grateful to God. Many thanks to all of you who supported us with your prayers. We really appreciated the kindness shown by all of you.
Now tumors can be entirely benign, which this one wasn’t. But in the genus of cancerous tumors, there is quite a range. On the gnarly end of things, you have the tumor with dripping fangs, a club in its left hand, with a spike through the end of it, and a mace in the right hand, and a tail like a scorpion. That’s one kind. The other kind is a cute little buster, the kind you are almost sorry to see go. Now my surgeon didn’t exactly use these phrases in describing the situation to me, but I could hear it in his voice. My tumor was closer to the cute little buster, but one who promised to turn to a life of crime if given a chance to grow up.
The tumor arose in the salivary gland, and did not spread from somewhere else, which was good news; salivary gland cancers almost never require
chemo, which was good news; the tumor was caught very early, and was as small as a detectable tumor gets, and that was good news; at the cellular
level, the tumor did display characteristics of an aggressive cancer — this wasn’t good news, but was mitigated by all the other factors; the shape
of the tumor indicated that it was not on the warpath, and that was good news. All in all, we are very grateful.
A panel of doctors still has to meet to settle on a recommendation for me, but the basic options appear to be choosing between “we’re all done now” and a blast of radiation just to make sure. If I get radiation, I will be sure to ask for a kind that will make my metaphors start to glow.
So anyway, please join us in thanking the Lord for a good result. We have greatly appreciated your encouragement and prayers.