Bronchoscope Results

My oncologist came in early this morning to discuss the findings of my bronchoscope from yesterday. She was very disappointed with the results. Not only were they not able to get a good sample again, but also it appears as though things have gotten worse. When they went in with the scope they saw several white sticky like blockages. They tried to take one out or at least a big enough sample of one, but were unsuccessful. Nobody really knows what the white things are. At first they thought it could be fungal, but the infectious disease specialists said it looked nothing like fungal and the fungal culture already came back negative. My oncologist still insists that it’s not tumor, because she has never seen anything like it. Basically it’s a big mystery to everyone right now.

The next step now is to get a neck/throat surgeon to do a different type of bronchoscope. In this case they would use a hard tube (instead of a soft/flexible) to go in and see if they can get a sample. This will require general anesthesia. There’s no date set for that procedure yet, especially with the upcoming holiday.

Meanwhile my breathing is getting more impaired. Last night and this morning I had to be on oxygen again since I was short of breath. The pulmonary specialist couldn’t believe that I could breathe on my own considering the amount of blockage.

So of course since things are worse I will not be going home anytime soon. The worst part is that my doctor goes off duty tonight and she will be on vacation for a few days. Now I’ll be dealing with a doctor that doesn’t even know me. She did say that if this stuff does turn out to be tumor I would start Taxol right away regardless of my platelets being low.