Phil and I took Maggie to Jackson today for a meeting with Dr. Berch, her surgeon. The current suspicious area on her liver is much like the one she had starting in December 2014. At that time a needle biopsy was taken with the results coming in as inconclusive. (We stretched our Forensic Files knowledge of DNA on that one). We thought we were facing an eventual surgery until the spot vanished in early 2015. With the return of something in the same area, we want to be aggressive in dealing with it. Today we discussed several options of which surgery seems to offer the best chance of a definitive answer as to what it is and the complete removal. If it is malignant, we’ll know it is gone. Maggie’s oncologist can then use the pathology report to better understand her response (or lack of) to chemo. If it is not malignant, we will rejoice and turn our attention back to the lungs with chemo that is proving to be effective. Several points made by Dr. Berch did much to guide our decision. The procedure is made easier by the fact the affected area is in the best possible location (least used) on the liver. Recovery should be easier when compared to her other resection surgeries. In other words, high gain/low risk.

Timing is a major consideration in scheduling. We want Maggie adequately recovered from the last chemo without unnecessary delay. Pending approval by her oncologist (who is currently checking recommended wait times for each chemo agent), we scheduled the surgery for August 22. This will give her a four week break from chemo prior to surgery. Once cleared after surgery (we’re thinking two weeks), she’ll return to chemo. The shorter the break, the better the chance of further reducing those lung nodules. When we think of all that goes into coordinating a multi-prong approach to cancer treatment, we are thankful for the wisdom and expertise of our medical team. And for the guiding hand of our God. We left our conference today encouraged and positive. In Dr. Berch’s words, “We’re still winning.”