Former BJ reporter John Dunphy's latest Facebook update on his medical situation:
Met
with Dr. John Lipham today at Keck Medical Center, which is nowhere near the
main USC campus but is in East L.A. He seems very knowledgeable and answered
all our questions. He will do an endoscopic ultrasound tomorrow morning to
stage the cancer, checking to see how deeply it has invaded the esophagus and
whether the lymph nodes are involved. He's consulting with Dr. Curti, the
oncologist today. If the cancer is Stage 2, it sounds as if they will want to
do surgery right away. If it is Stage 3, we will discuss doing chemo first.
Some recent studies indicate that chemo first at that stage increases
longevity. But other studies show it can do some patients more harm than good.
It is hotly debated, he says. So pray for Stage 1 or 2!!
In the meantime, he wants some cardiac tests done to make sure the old ticker is up to all this.
If we do chemo, it will take three months. If not, he will try to do surgery right away. He says the operation takes four hours or so and will be done with small incisions in the belly and the neck We were under the impression from earlier doctors that the whole stomach would be removed, but Dr. Lipham says he will save part of it. The whole shebang involves a 6-7 day hospital stay, including an epidural pain catheter and a feeding tube (Moses!) That's if there are no complications. But I should be up and moving around the second day after the surgery. Full recovery will take a minimum of 3 months. Stay tuned...more tomorrow.
In the meantime, he wants some cardiac tests done to make sure the old ticker is up to all this.
If we do chemo, it will take three months. If not, he will try to do surgery right away. He says the operation takes four hours or so and will be done with small incisions in the belly and the neck We were under the impression from earlier doctors that the whole stomach would be removed, but Dr. Lipham says he will save part of it. The whole shebang involves a 6-7 day hospital stay, including an epidural pain catheter and a feeding tube (Moses!) That's if there are no complications. But I should be up and moving around the second day after the surgery. Full recovery will take a minimum of 3 months. Stay tuned...more tomorrow.
For previous BJ Alums reports on Dunphy, click on http://bjretirees.blogspot.com/search?q=John+Dunphy+medical
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