The consultation with Dr. Salloum was… interesting.
To Say The Least.
It has been brought to my attention that,
while the science of medicine
is an established science,
The practice of medicine
is an individual philosophy.
The Friday before the appointment, I sent Dr. Salloum a complete set of all my records – everything I had. Including CD copies of the 2 PET/CT scans. And brought copies of more info I acquired in the few days since I sent the original packet to him.
According to Dr Salloum, he…:
#1. …would have treated me for a staph infection no more than 2 weeks before he did more tests, biopsy, etc. With my Family history, he would have much more proactive.
With my family history, I should have been more proactive, but I Trusted my Doctor to be knowledgeable and make appropriate suggestions / decisions regarding my treatment . He said it was a staph infection – I Believed Him.
#2. …believes that I have Inflammatory Breast Cancer. (reference Feb 25 2009 Breast Needle Core Biopsy Results which indicate “Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma”, page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5)
This is stunning (like a gun) news to consider, but many of the common symptoms are certainly more closely related to what I experienced. It just gets better and better…
#3. …is hopeful that the 4 vertebra tumors (supposedly indicated in PET/CT Scan #2) are a “false read” due to the large amount of Neulasta (the bone marrow stimulator) that is currently in my body. Dr. Salloum indicates that one Neulasta shot is good for up to 3 weeks (I had been told only 3 days); getting a shot every 2 weeks for 8 weeks would probably add up to a “large” amount.
While that would be a Great change of fortune and would certainly explain the increased back pain, I’m gonna stay realistic until I get test results that say otherwise. Bottom line – I have Breast Cancer, That will not change. However… one can certainly Hope for a better result for the metatastic bone cancer diagnosis!
#4. …strongly suggests that I continue to follow the traditional treatment / recovery of chemo – surgery – radiation; he recommends a smaller dose of chemo, administered every week for 12 weeks, vs a larger dose administered every other week for 8 weeks.
If I continue on the chemo path of treatment / recovery, this is definitely something I’d look into.
And That is the new information that I got to put into my pot and stir… Here’s a copy of his “doodling notes”…
