My examination at the UM Medical Center today was good. Dr. Norman Hogikyan was very thorough and used the latest technology for the exam. Sylvia, Cathy and our son Tim were with me. The doctor said that the UM pathologists agreed that the tissue samples from the second surgery showed squamous cell carcinoma "in situ." He showed us the cancer on a big screen TV. During the exam Sylvia and the kids could see the vocal cords "live" but I didn't see them until he called the film up on his computer.
Dr. Hogikyan feels confident he can remove the cancer with laser surgery and get enough margin around it to remove it completely. So we scheduled the third surgery for June 29. The preparatory exams are scheduled for June 27 although we were able to do some of them today.
I shared the anesthesiologist's letter with him.
Sylvia and I will return to Mill Spring for a few days, then return to Ann Arbor on June 26. Cathy has worked her magic to get me an appointment with the cataract specialist at the Kellogg Eye Center the morning of June 27 to see if my cataracts are ready for removal. I will finish up the pre-surgical exam that afternoon.
God has put me in the hands of a very experienced surgeon who definitely knows his business. I look forward to getting this surgery to be rid of the tumor and to avoid the radiation therapy. I thought the radiation would be done over a three or four day period and that would be it. But the reality is it would take at least six weeks of daily doses. Another out-patient surgery is much better than going through that.
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