PET Scan results and tumor grading.

Mel called us today with our 'proper' staging.

T3N1M0.

That's fully understandable to us, but allow me to break it down.

Tumor staging is a system used by doctors to describe the size of a cancerous tumor and how far it has spread in the body. It helps determine the severity of the disease, guide treatment decisions, and predict patient outcomes. The most common staging system is the TNM system, which classifies cancer based on tumor size (T), involvement of nearby lymph nodes (N), and metastasis (M), or the spread to distant organs. Staging ranges from Stage 0 (localized, non-invasive) to Stage 4 (advanced, widespread cancer).

T - Tumor.

What stage is the tumor. For us, stage 3.

N - Lymph nodes.

How many lymph nodes are affected. For us, just 1. This number can go up to number 4.

There are 4 main N stages.

N0 means there are no melanoma cells in the nearby lymph nodes.

N1 means one of the following: one lymph node

N2 :2 or 3 lymph nodes

one lymph node and there are also in-transit, satellite or microsatellite metastases

N3 : 4 or more lymph nodes

M- Metastasis.

Metastasis describes whether the cancer has spread to a different part of the body such as the liver or lungs. for us it's a 0.

There are 2 stages of metastasis – M0 and M1:

M0 means the cancer hasn’t spread to another part of the body.

M1 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

M1 can be further divided into a, b, c or d. This depends on which parts of the body the cancer has spread to.

I cannot describe how relieved we were to hear those numbers! Particularily the M number.

No spread means surgery is available to us and the cancer is more managable. Win!

The last few weeks have been crazy, stresful, scary, upsetting, unnerving. In the same breath it's been positive, motivational and determined. We've been really focused on getting all of the tests done that we need to. Learning all that we can about this cancer and how to navigate recovery.

As will all major life changes, some days are good, some days not so good. There will always be moments when the scary stuff feels like it's winning, and that's okay.

The way we've been dealing with things is to go for a walk. Getting some fresh air is a great way to pick yourself up and it's a great opportunity to talk. Especially outside of the home, it's like letting the bad stuff go outside, so it can't infect the home, does that make sense?

As always, we're determined and refuse to be beaten.

Next time we'll touch on managing diet whule living with dysphagia.

Comments

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