Good morning! I wanted to send an update and apologize for not keeping this current. To catch up – I had some issues with my swelling which caused my incision to open up. The wound is now doing much better as is my swelling. I have been attending twice-weekly appointments for lymphedema therapy to manage the swelling. I have been…
Author: Tory Smith
Post Surgery Day 23
Medical update: surgery went well, as Josh said in his update. There were two lymph nodes that were inoperable due to their location attached to an aortic artery and urethra. While this was not what we were hoping for, it is a precious reminder to trust God and not man (Ps 118:9). My surgeon did the best he could and…
Surgery Ahead
Hi all, now that we think my treatment is working (based on the PET scan) we are addressing the melanoma in my lymph nodes with surgery. I am scheduled for a full lymph node dissection on 10/13 at Banner Gateway in Gilbert. It is an inpatient surgery. The recovery will be about 4-6 weeks. I will be adjusting the meal…
PET Scan Results
Dr. Mahmoud called to let us know that my scan showed that tumor activity has slowed down. This means the treatment is working! We are so thankful for this news! Praise God. Friday is my next treatment and appointment with the surgeon.
Dad’s Celebration of Life/PET Scan
Good morning! Just wanted to send a quick update. Thank you to all who attended my Dad’s celebration of life on Saturday. I am truly blessed to hear your stories about him. He made an impact on many lives. As I write, I am waiting for a PET scan. This will determine if the treatment is working. We will have…
Good news
I had my brain scan yesterday and today heard back that it was all clear. So thankful. Also, I will have a pet scan on the 20th to see how the treatment is working. Surgery is still an unknown until after that scan. Unfortunately the stomach issue side effects of immunotherapy have kept me in bed today. We had a…
Prayer for Wisdom & Discernment
Good morning! I wanted to share our prayer needs for this week. Friday is my next treatment as well as appointments with my medical oncologist and surgical oncologist. There are different schools of thought regarding surgery, so we are interested to see what Dr. Gimbel will have to say regarding my case. He specializes in melanoma at MD Anderson and…
Update 8/19/2021
Hello and welcome to the new home for these posts. I am glad you found your way here. You can sign up here for updates when I make a new post if you’re interested. Josh optimized my little venture after glitches with PostHope. He’s the best. I am doing well – truly well! I have a bit of tummy trouble…
Update 8/12/2021
Good morning friends and family – Wow. Your words of encouragement have been much appreciated. Thank you. If I can be praying for you or your family for anything, please let me know. Our visit yesterday with Dr. Mahmoud was good – very informative. Things will get started quickly. He wants me to do an aggressive treatment of immunotherapy, which…
Well here we are…
At the end of June, I discovered a lump in the lymph nodes in my groin (inguinal lymph nodes). Because I had melanoma in 2010, I made an appointment at MD Anderson’s clinic. After a PET scan showed that I indeed had tumor activity in my inguinal lymph nodes, I had a biopsy surgery on August 2nd. As we waited…