GIST This!

As of yesterday morning, it had been one week since my endoscopic ultrasound and biopsies, but I still had not received my pathology results. The doctor told me it would take three weeks, but other people said that was ridiculous. They claimed biopsy results should take five to six days.

As the doctor was so dire about the need for this tumor to be removed, whether it was benign or malignant, I thought I would get ahead of the game and start lining up a first and second opinion now. I lined up an appointment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston fairly quickly. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City was not as easy. There, I was told that no appointment would be made until they had the pathology report. (Dana Farber has direct access to my local records and, therefore, had the report already -- even though I, the patient, was not given any access.)

Imagine my surprise when Sloan called yesterday to schedule an appointment for me. When I told the scheduler that I did not yet have the pathology report, she replied: "We do." My heart sank. Is this how I'm learning that my tumor is malignant -- through a third party? I didn't ask her to tell me the results. I was so upset, and I was nearly certain that she was not "authorized" to tell me.

About two hours later, the local doctor who conducted the ultrasound and performed the biopsies called me. To my surprise, he told me that the GIST is BENIGN, as is the enlarged lymph node! Praise be to God. Then, despite his dire warning a week earlier that this tumor absolutely has to be removed, he told me that, due to its size, it need only be watched -- just like my former coworker's lung nodules. I thanked him for getting my retirement off to a good start rather than the bad start I had feared. 

Despite the good news, I have been blocked from accessing MY own pathology report. Nevertheless, I'm keeping my appointment at Sloan, as these types of tumors can be complicated, and they have so many variants, and putting my Dana Farber appointment on hold. As for my life, it's