Mets Day 1036: CT scan shows more neck tumors

Today I received the results of Tuesday's CT scan at Johns Hopkins. The good news: no tumors were detected in my abdomen, pelvis, organs, bones, or brain. In addition, the supraclavicular node is 2.5 cm, basically unchanged in size from my January 8, 2015 scan. The bad news: three other nodes in my neck have swelled in size. In the technical language of the radiologist:

There is an enlarged level 5 posterior triangle lymph node seen best on series 6 slice 52 measuring 2 cm on the left side. An additional level 5 A lymph node measuring 1.9 cm on the left side is present. Additional posterior triangle level 5 B lymph nodes are seen in the left neck and there is a 3 cm left level 4 lymph node behind the jugular vein and lateral to the carotid artery on the left side anterior to the anterior scalene muscle.

The reference to levels refers to the location in my neck (see this chart), and does not characterize the nature of the cancer.

For the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that, each morning when I awake, the left side of my neck is somewhat sore. Each time I move my neck, I feel a little bit of pressure on the left side. But so far, this cluster of tumors is not interfering with any bodily functions. I have no nerve pain, or difficulty in talking, or chewing, or swallowing, or moving my neck. The tumors apparently not compressing my jugular vein or carotid artery, or otherwise interfering with blood flow to my head (probably because I've been brain dead for decades, as my kids might say). But this is the first time that I have started noticing the direct effects of my cancer, as opposed to the side effects of all of the treatments of my cancer. It's not a comforting feeling.

On Tuesday, as Dr. Hahn palpitated the nodes in my neck, I asked him if there was anything that should be done about my growing nodes, other than the clinical trial we were discussing. He said no -- radiation was premature, since they were not interfering with any bodily functions. Surgery probably was not advised, since taking out the nodes would not be curative, and surgery would have its own risks and complications. So I watch and wait for protrusions to sprout from my neck, just as Dr. Frankenstein predicted: "For the experiment to be a success, all of the body parts must be enlarged."