As anyone reading this blog knows by now, I had surgery on October 16th, 2015. For reasons that researchers don’t yet understand, those who are diagnosed with myositis have a heightened risk for cancer, particularly over the first two years (the threat tends to level out after that).

Because of this, being ever watchful with screenings has become a routine part of my life, and part of the reason that I see so many specialists. Thanks to the fantastic work of my primary physician, nephrology and endocrinology, we were able to catch a tumor that was within my left adrenal gland. The October surgery was to remove that gland.

While we knew that the tumor was producing trouble for my potassium, blood pressure and other things, another obvious question that arose concerned whether or not it was malignant. After meeting with my surgeon earlier this week, I was informed that the pathology came back as benign. While this means that I never had cancer, it was never anything more than a curiosity since the tumor needed to be removed regardless.

It makes me think of those who are getting a malignant diagnosis and don’t have the option of considering the result a ‘curiosity’. For those suffering with cancer, and those who have loved ones who have, I am looking forward to a day when it can be a simple ‘by the way’ for all.

 

P.S. For those who are curious, I wanted to include the picture of the removed adrenal gland, but I couldn’t figure out how to ‘hide’ it for those who don’t want to see it. So…we’ll go this route…scroll all the way down to see. Thanks!