September 28, 2007

Garrett received his MRI results late this afternoon and AGAIN they are inconclusive. They will speak with the Thoracic Surgeon on Monday to see when he will have the surgical lung biopsy. Can you believe this runaround??

September 27, 2007

Garrett had his MRI today and they should have the results tomorrow. I will update the blog as soon as I hear from Mom.

September 26, 2007

Instead of having the surgical lung biopsy tomorrow, the thoracic surgeon wants him to have an MRI with contrast (dye) first. This will be done at 8:30 tomorrow morning in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Once they get his MRI results, they will then determine whether or not he needs the surgical lung biopsy. Mom and Garrett learned yesterday from the surgeon that this surgical biopsy will be quite entailed. They would need to make a 5" incision on his side between his ribs to get to his lung. He would also have a 2" incision at his throat where they would go through his chest to get to his lymph nodes. He would be hospitalized for 5 days at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Not a simple biopsy by any means!

Please continue to pray for Garrett and Mom too. They need to stay strong and optimistic. They are both very tired as you can probably imagine.

September 20, 2007

Garrett had his Pulmonary Function Test today and did very well! This test was to see if his lungs are strong enough for him to go through the surgery. His surgical lung biopsy will be next Thursday, September 27th.

September 17, 2007

Fortunately, Garrett's lung and liver biopsies came back negative. However, the Oncologist said that he has been an Oncologist for a long time and he really does feel that it is cancer. The Oncologist wants him to now have a surgical lung biopsy. He is scheduled for a Pulmonary Function Test this Thursday, 9/20. He must have the Pulmonary Function Test prior to the surgical biopsy. On Tuesday, 9/25, Garrett has a consultation with the surgeon. On Thursday, 9/27, he will have the surgery at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

As you keep Garrett in your prayers, please also pray to St. Peregrine, the Patron Saint of Cancer Patients. He is the Patron of cancer victims because a cancerous growth on his leg was miraculously cured. Please also keep Mom in your prayers. She is very tired and her blood pressure has been very high lately. She is so frustrated that they still have no firm answers from any of the doctors.

Thank you all so much for your love and support.

September 11, 2007

Garrett had his second liver biopsy on Friday, 9/7/07 at Emory Eastside Hospital in Snellville, Georgia. The doctor is hopeful that he got a good tissue sample this time. There are three questionable spots in his liver.

On Monday, 9/10/07, he had a scope lung biopsy at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The doctor took tissue samples of the spot on his lung as well as scrapings. The lung looks very inflamed and there are raised spots. He returns to the Oncologist on Friday, 9/14/07, for all findings from these tests and hopefully a treatment plan as well.

Lets all hope and pray for negative findings and a positive outcome. I will update again after Friday’s doctor appointment.

September 6, 2007

At the beginning of August 2007, Garrett felt as if he had the flu. He had aches and chills and a high fever. He went to the doctor and was told that he had pneumonia. A couple of weeks later, his fever came back. Garrett went back to the doctor and they took another chest x-ray. At this time, they discovered a spot on the lung that they feel was there before the pnuemonia but was masked by the pneumonia. A Cat Scan was ordered for the next day. The Cat Scan showed a spot on the lung, swollen lymph nodes, and three suspicious spots on the liver that they are questioning. Mom and Garrett then went to meet with an Oncologist to discuss what needs to happen from here.

At the Oncologist visit, Garrett was told that he had lung cancer located at the bronchial tubes going into the lung. The lung cancer is inoperable due to it's location. The Oncologist did not like the looks of the liver. Tests were ordered at that time to find out exactly what is going on. The Oncologist feels that the cancer did not start in the lung, but somewhere else and went to the lung.

Garrett had a Pet Scan on Wednesday, August 29th and a liver biopsy on Friday, August 31st. Unfortunately, the Pet Scan was inconclusive and the liver biopsy was not successful either. The Oncologist said that they did not get "clean" samples from the liver, therefore, making them void. The liver biopsy will be repeated on Friday, September 7th.

Garrett was also referred to a pulmonologist for his lung. The pulmonologist is in the process of scheduling a scope lung biopsy as well. They wanted to conduct the lung biopsy on Friday, 9/7 as well but Mom feels that is too much to put him through in one day. Not to mention, the liver biopsy will be done at Eastside Emory Hospital in Snellville, Georgia and the lung biopsy will be done at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

I will update again on Friday after the biopsy has been done. Please keep Garrett in your thoughts and prayers.

Terri