Does this make me an actual cancer patient now?

I haven't changed my bio thing yet from the days of being just dysplasia, where it asks the Yes/No question if you are a cancer patient or survivor.

Maybe I'll wait for Dana Farber's pathology review to update it, on the long shot and say, "nah that's just inflammation and possibly in situ...; looks more like severe dysplasia"....

I updated my signature line thing with the pathology "thesis statement" of diagnosis but haven't changed that Yes/No answer yet.



Waiting the next 5 weeks for 2/20/2024 to roll around, feels like a lonnnggg time away to not know much. I do feel I am in superb hands and have full confidence they will do the absolute best.

Updated my All of Us Research account to include my electronic health records of Dana Farber and all the other health systems.

Would love to somehow contribute more (as in my tissue, imaging, immunohistopathology etc...) to research somehow, to help our medical folks figure ways of catching this early and developing better treatments and expanding our knowledge.

I don't know how it would be possible to ethically do it, do something like figure a way to graft the stage one tumor tissue on a lab grown tongue or something and see how rapidly it progresses or something like that. Dumb actual example but something along those lines.

I can't tell from the various patient portals if Dana Farber has received the pathology "cassettes" (slides, I don't know the one pathology report talks about cassettes--what exactly that is I am unsure (will Google that momentarily)) from Dartmouth. I'd imagine it would be at least a week for them to be reviewed upon receipt. I am also unsure if I'll be able to see the conclusion of Dana Farber's pathology review before. Curiosity is where I am at.

I guess I should just enjoy some of my favorite "chewier" foods these next 5 weeks and enjoy. Some nice tasty brisket BBQ and such.

How much of a wider excision I am in for, I am not sure of, or what the recovery process is likely to entail. Relatively minor in the larger scheme of things than what many have had to endure. I imagine the first week will be pretty rough, and 3 or 4 weeks later back to roughly normal.

A lot probably depends on how much he decides to take, if he finds anything else on the scope, if the pathology review of the old biopsy indicates something else etc...which is probably why we didn't talk much about the recovery.

I remember the surgeon said no long term disability in appearance, speech function or eating. The fact that he said I'd be home that evening indicates to me it is likely to be worse than the first biopsy, but nothing to keep in hospitalized overnight.

Rainy January day here in New Hamsphire...guess I'll play some video games and go to a movie with the Mrs. this afternoon.