Core Biopsy, Let's See What We Are Working With? / March 30, 2017

On March 30^th we go back to Orlando Health hospital.  The idea is to get a large needle core biopsy on the inflamed lymph node so they can obtain a sample of the cancer cells for testing.  This biopsy will not tell us the primary source, that ship has sailed, but it can tell us the underlying cause of the cancer. Here is some more of that education stuff.

Head and Neck squamous cell cancer comes from one of four primary causes.  The first two are smoking and drinking.  Since my days of smoking were basically the latter part of 1979 when I graduated high school and started the Air Force, which can be eliminated.  Drinking, well that is eliminated.  The third cause is exposure to certain chemicals over a long period of time.  I think I am safe here too.  The last cause is from HPV, or Human Papillomavirus. That’s right, a good ol’ STD.

It seems that when s male is exposed to HPV the body will attack and kill the virus over a fairly short amount of time.  The virus is then harmless.  The problem is that the virus will mutate and go into hiding in the body and is not detectable.  Many decades later, this virus will re-appear as a head and neck cancer.  In females, the virus will behave in the exact same way, only it comes back as cervical cancer.  This is similar to how chicken pox will gives you hives when you get it.  After a short amount of time it clears up and all is good.  Thirty years later that same chicken pox virus shows itself as Shingles.  Crazy isn’t it.

Ok, back to the biopsy.  If they can get a piece of the cancer and it comes back positive for HPV, there is a 90% cure rate.  HPV is the leading cause of Head and Neck cancer in men, but it responds the best to treatment.  If it is one of the other causes, well now that cure rate drops to 70% at best.

I never thought this day would ever come but Kim and I got on our knees and prayed that I have an STD.  I do have to say I am grateful to the doctor for clarifying to Kim that it would have been contracted BEFORE we had met since it stays dormant for several decades.  Otherwise, it may not have been the cancer that killed me, Lol.

The biopsy itself, piece of cake.  The doctor used an ultrasound machine to find the lymph node.  He then numbed up my neck and stuck three different needles into the lymph node and removed three pieces of tissue.  I just have to wait for pathology to test it and see.