The joy yesterday was the first patient, who brought me her pathology report from the University of Washington. It WAS cancer, it was a WEIRD cancer, they think it's been growing for FIFTEEN YEARS, but the miraculous part was that it was 17 centimeters and confined to the organ that they removed. It was just on the edge, but there is no sign that it spread. So after 15 years, it is still stage I.
The UW doctor had talked about chemotherapy or radiation therapy but now they aren't going to do either. They are going to do a CT scan in three months.
My patient said, "I hope that if it comes back it takes ANOTHER fifteen years and then I will be 90 and I won't care!"
I am sure that if I went to a conference, that case would be discussed....we like miracles too.
We hugged and both nearly hopped around the clinic.