Scan 58: Still NED, but needing a new shoulder

My semi-annual CT scans on Thursday were negative for metastatic disease ("No Evidence of Disease"). I like NED. My current remission turns 4 years old this month. Let's hope it continues for many more.

My left shoulder, however, has decided that it's done with me. I've been getting cortisone injections for 5 or 6 years, but those stopped working earlier this year. I have constant low-grade pain in my left shoulder, and moving it feels like my clutch has gone out and I'm grinding gears. I'd held off on doing anything more about it because, you know, I was going to die soon from cancer and so why subject myself to a shoulder replacement. But as it now seems that I'm not going to die in the near future, I've decided to do something about my unfunny humerus. I had some x-rays, consulted with a couple of orthopedists and was told that it was bone-on-bone, and it's only going to get worse. So I had a shoulder CT scan done when I got my others done, and the radiologist found

Severe glenohumeral osteoarthritis with bone-on-bone apposition, prominent marginal osteophytes, mild subchondral cystic changes and sclerosis. Posterior decentering of the humeral head with chronic posterior glenohumeral osseous remodeling. Multiple intra-articular ossific bodies, the largest which measures up to 12 mm in the subscapularis recess.

The good news is that my rotator cuff seems ok. I had an MRI yesterday to give further clarity, and was reminded how much I hate being stuffed in an MRI tube. I'm scheduled for a shoulder replacement on July 5. It's a strange way to celebrate my turning the corner on a durable remission, but what the hell. I'm still not going to see the dentist, however. I'll need a lot longer remission before I'm prepared to do that.