Tuesday, September 2, 2008

This morning Stan saw the Thoracic surgeon - Dr. Swisher who is head of the department. Dr. Swisher had reviewed all the data and they discussed his findings. The CT scan done in Houston shows that the tumor has grown 1.2 cm since the one taken in Albuquerque 1 month and 3 days ago. It is now 3.7 cm. They are taking him off the Coumadin and will do a biopsy of the lymph nodes - they are not in his lungs but above - on Monday or Tuesday. Depending on the results he may have surgery soon after that - but probably not the same day as the biopsy. Dr. Swisher would also be the one performing the surgery. As a note: you may already know that he gives himself a shot in the stomach of Lovnox, when he is off the Coumadin. He will see the radiologist this afternoon to discuss treatment options with them. Tomorrow morning he will see his coordinating doctor - Dr. Blumenschein to discuss all of the findings and options.