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The following was written on May 13, and is the first segment of an ongoing narrative. Please forgive me for leaving you in the lurch; I will get you caught up as soon as I can.
In
February, Peggy began to complain of pain shooting down her upper
right thigh. On March 5, she went to her internist of 35-years, Kirk
Jacobson for diagnosis and treatment. Kirk thought the pain was coming
from her hip and ordered a hip x-ray. When nothing was found, he ordered a lumbar spine
x-ray. When Peggy saw Kirk again on April 11, he ordered an
MRI of her lumbar spine. When bulging discs and stenosis were found, he sent her to a pain
specialist named Adam Kemp for a
possible nerve block. Peggy saw Kemp on April 24,
and was told that the pain might be caused by an inflamed tendon in her
right hip, so he ordered an MRI. She had the MRI done six days later, but couldn't see Kemp's schedule for a follow-up appointment
until June.
Because her
pain was worsening daily, she called Kemp's office on May
7, and said that she
couldn't wait until June to see him. She also asked for a copy of her
MRI results but was inexplicably refused. Due to a cancellation, she was able to see Kemp the next day
(May 8). While she and I were waiting for him to enter the exam room, a
woman walked in, handed Peggy a piece of paper, and walked out. Peggy
saw that the paper contained her MRI results, which alluded to "the possibility of metastatic bone
lesions to the iliac bone." Kemp hadn't looked at the
results prior to entering the room, and, upon seeing them,
blamed Oregon Imaging for not alerting him to their seriousness.
He
then ordered three additional imaging tests,
but when Peggy called later that day to make an appointment she was told
that one of his orders needed clarification. An order that didn't need
clarification called for a CT scan of the right hip, and Peggy had one
done on May 10, two days after seeing Kemp. This time, she asked Oregon
Imaging to send her the results directly. On May 12, they emailed her a
report which contained the terror-instilling words: "This most likely
represents osseous metastatic disease".
Eight
days later, Oregon Imaging still didn't know what Kemp wanted done despite
Peggy, Oregon Imaging, and me making repeated and impassionedd (at least on my part),
efforts to find out. She called Kemp's office a final time
on May 14, to say she was done seeing him so there was no need
for him to clarify his orders. His office called the next day to say
that his orders had been clarified. During the week that we wasted calling Kemp, Peggy called Kirk (her internist), and explained the situation. Kirk immediately ordered a PET-CT scan, which is to be done on Monday, May 19.
Bone cancer that originates in the bone constitutes only 1% of all cancers. Secondary bone cancer is terminal and
can originate in many places. In women, it most commonly migrates from the breasts or lungs. If she has boner cancer and if it came from her
breasts (she has yearly mammograms), her odds of being alive in five
years is 13%. If the cancer spread from her lungs (she has had lung problems since getting Valley Fever in Fresno, California, in 1986),
the likelihood is that she will be dead this time next year.
6 comments:
Oh Snow. My heart goes out to you and to Peggy. The blog can wait. Know that we are holding you firmly in our hearts.
I am so sorry. You both have a hard road ahead and I wish it will be a smooth as it possibly can be.
Oh no, Snow, this is terrible news. Awful. They've screwed up so much though, am hoping it is indeed from her spine. It's the most common cause of hip pain, a pinched lower back nerve. Pelvic lesions are extremely common. Am hoping.....for both of you.
I should mention I had some scan once that had nothing to do with my hip but in it they discovered I had/have a huge lesion on my pelvis right at where the hip bone enters. I worried it was cancer and was sent to a orthopedist, who, unfortunately, was an idiot. I'd learned 11 different types of pelvic lesions the night before, and had to recite them to him, as he didn't have any clue. I was told to come back in six month to see if it had grown. However, they'd lost my original scans and so there was no comparison possible. I was disgusted. Never went back, never had another scan and have had no problem. This was like 15 or 20 years ago. A veterinarian told me pelvic lesions are extremely common in women, but especially if they lead rougher lives, like sports or hiking or well those sorts of things.
Terrible news. Thinking about you and Peggy. My friend is battling breast cancer and a host of other problems. I fear she won't survive and I fear for her husband if she doesn't.
Oh, Lowell. Your dear Peggy.
I have a friend who discovered her breast cancer through the pain of mets in the hip. We think that if we have the screenings, we will be safer but sometimes the very best of awareness and prevention fails. Its so very cruel.
I believe you both have the love and the fortitude to face this challenge.
Big love to you both
Kylie
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