I'm praying for Ryan and will continue (Look what our prayers did in the election!)
I'm also asking for the group's efforts on behalf of my Moma as she has surgery tomorrow.
Moma, who is only 67 and never smoked or drank and whose parents lived to within weeks of 90 years old, has an incredibly rare tumor which looks like it came from the thymus. The tumor causes her body to make antibodies against itself which also work to make her very weak because the nerve impulses don't get to the muscles. This is probably related to the same problem that caused her to have vitiligo in the 1970's and a goiter in the 1980's.
The tumor is small cell squamous cell carcinoma, as are 30% of the thymic carcinomas - but there are only a few hundred thymic tumors in the US each year, so no one's sure what to expect. All the indications are that it *did* come from the thymus and it is very localized, has not metastasized to or invaded any other sites and so the doctor should be able to completely remove it. She's had a couple of CAT scans, a PET scan, and an MRI of her head. We can be as sure as anyone could be that we would know if the tumor had spread, thank God. The fact that we found the tumor while it seems to be localized is already a miracle. Most have obviously metastacised and invaded the lung and central vessels when they are found.
The surgery will be like an open heart surgery, with the breastbone cut, in order to view the middle chest structures completely and ensure that all of the thymus and any tissue the tumor is attached to or invading is removed. She'll be in the ICU for a while afterwards and in the hospital at least a week, possibly longer. She will probably have to have radiation therapy after the surgery unless the tumor is "encapsulated" because of the risk of cells being left behind. I'm praying that there won't be any such need.
Please ping the list for me and pray that God will give Moma strength and wrap this tumor up in the part the surgeon removes so that it can't cause her anymore trouble.
Thank you all for being here for me! The miracles and love build me up.
You and yours will be in my thoughts and prayers to defeat this cancer. I was able to beat pancreatic cancer (which is also exceedingly rare; affecting only 2-3 people per million) thanks entirely to the Good Lord's help and the prayers of many kind souls here.