Of bladders and bobcats

The purpose of this follow-up post is to report on the actual scan results, which I've just received. However, I have to also report an unusual wildlife sighting on the Pipeline Trail (which goes up from the Sammamish river valley along the Pipeline right-of-way): a very large bobcat. By "large" I mean that when you first spot it out of the corner of your eye, you think it's a dog on the order of a German shepherd. It is then a bit disconcerting to realize that it is clearly a member of the cat family. A mountain lion? But the coloring is all wrong, with the spotted fur pattern. As soon as it saw me it lay down in the low bushes, so I couldn't see if it had a tail; indeed it was so well camouflaged that I hadn't already known it was there, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. Finally I decided to lob a couple of small rocks its way, just to be absolutely sure it wasn't a mountain lion (in which case a 911 call would be in order, with all the houses around). It jumped up and ran off, clearly a bobcat. But a HUGE one. I had no idea they got that big (up to 65 pounds or so, as I later checked).

Now, as to the scan. This one illustrates why I want to see it myself, as what the oncologist tells me over the phone is not necessarily the complete story. If you're interested in such things, here are some actual excerpts:


Liver: Significant interval increase in size of segment 7 hepatic metastatic
lesion (3/120), measuring 4.4 x 4.0 cm, previously 2.7 x 2.0 cm. Previously
noted small left satellite nodules is no longer identifiable on today's CT.
There is a new 1.6 x 1.1 cm lesion in the segment 6 (3/154).

An then in the summary:

1. Significant interval worsening of hepatic metastatic disease with new
lesion in the segment 6 and significantly enlarging known segment 7 lesion.
2. Unchanged thickening of the inferior urinary bladder walls, consistent with
primary bladder cancer.
3. Unchanged retroperitoneal and pelvic lymph nodes.
4. No evidence of new disease.

The doc didn't mention the "new lesion", but maybe it's another mirage. In any case, as I already knew, it's not exactly good news. But hardly surprising. Also, I think he's stretching it a bit to say that my bladder is "pristine". I can see the ad now at Al's Used Bladder Emporium: "Almost like new! Top quality bladder in pristine condition, used only on Sundays by a little old mathematician!"

The radiologist looks at everything in the abdomen/pelvic area, and had this to say about my hip replacement: "No evidence of hardware failure." Well, that's good to know!

Another scan, and a very happy Wendy birthday

Last Monday's scan showed that the original lesion in my liver has again increased in size, but ``not dramatically'', to quote the oncologist. On the other hand, the second apparent lesion now appears to have been a mirage. So that's good news, although I myself have not yet seen the radiologist's report. It really irks me that they're so slow to forward it to me. The doc also said that my bladder looked ``pristine''. It's not often you hear those two words used in the same sentence.

He also told me about a new treatment as a possible alternative to atezo. I'll report on that later, when I've had a chance to investigate. For now I'm just looking forward to our New York City trip, coming up on Wednesday! We're going to see Abby in the chorus of Fidelio at the Met, and we're all going to see Aida as well. It will be great to see Abby and Oliver in their native habitat.

Not to mention I'll finally meet the legendary Earl Grey (the cat).

Meanwhile, we had a wonderful celebration of Wendy's xx-th birthday, where the number has been censored because I can't believe a young man like myself is married to a woman that old. On the Saturday we went out for dinner and then saw the movie ``A United Kingdom'', which is fabulous. Very highly recommended. On Sunday, her actual birthday, we had birthday dinner at the Brown's house. Now, it is well-known that Kaia and Finley are the cutest grandkids on the planet, as has been verified by an independent research firm. But they really outdid themselves this time:

They met Wendy at the door and sang Happy Birthday to her. Kaia made a colorful Happy Birthday poster. They each made a present for her out of cardboard etc.: Kaia made a Boeing airplane, and Finley made a doll house (``Be careful! It's fragile!'' he warned). Kaia helped her mother make a strawberry birthday cake, in the shape of a strawberry (according to Kaia, ``I told mommy how to make it''). My favorite image of the evening, which makes me smile just to think about it, is Kaia serving cake and icecream while wearing a cute little apron and a white chef's hat. Would you like one strawberry or two? she asked each of us. Later she announced that she was going to go around the table and give each of us a hug, which she did. Finley decided to make a present for his daddy. ``Don't look over here!'' he exclaimed about once a minute. ``Guys, don't look at the art table!'' It turned out to be a Star Wars vehicle---the name of which I forget, not being a connoisseur of the form as Finley is. Meanwhile, Kaia was whispering to me about her plans for Daddy's birthday cake (his being the next family birthday coming up).

It doesn't get any cuter than that! Life is beautiful, indeed.