The next "exciting" episode . . .

Managed to get some views from the other oncologist today who suggested some expensive, but possibly vital tests which may determine whether the first oncologist's assessment is the only answer.

I guess we are starting to ask the question - WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?

Possibly a PET scan and/or an MRI could help to determine what is happening on the CT scans.

It is possible (or so I am told) that the scarring left by operations, pneumonia, and radiation treatment through the lungs could explain the vision that appears on the CT scan. It also could help to determine whether there has been any wider spread and so cast some more light on what if anything can be or needs to be done.

As and when this is done then there are still possibilities of other tests e.g. an attempt at actually getting some material from the locations where there appears to be a problem. That may assist people to actually analyse the material extracted and see what the story is under the microscope.

Given how much work has taken place on the right hand side of the body in my lifetime e.g. - rotator cuff injury, major operation to deal with the original appearance of the oesophageal cancer, subsequent operation on the lymph nodes for either metastases or original cancer not caught in the operation, vocal cord implant, arthritis etc etc it is certainly not as though people were starting with a mint new corpus.

The question is - or at least in my view ought to be - given all the work done on this area of the body what else could the CT scan be showing?

I accept the reality that one explanation is that the cancer has spread and/or returned and that it is a matter of time.

What I do NOT want to happen is that we leap to this explanation as the only one, because it is the most obvious one, and then base treatment and prognosis decisions on that basis.

If there is any meaning to the phrase "informed consent" then I would like to be informed a lot more than I am at present.

I would like to hope that medical science has progressed to the stage where while clutching one explanation (the most obvious one) to protect it from harm and the fear of it being lost sight of, other possible explanations are sought for the symptoms and then either eliminated through testing or (and this is the BIG "or") if they cannot be eliminated considering whether the original diagnosis and/or prognosis can still be sustained in the light of new evidence and/or assessment.

Meanwhile I am of course making inquiries about doctors elsewhere in Australia who might be able and willing to consider the evidence (such as it is) and consider the situation from a perspective that is not coloured by previous knowledge of the 'case' and so perhaps offer a different view about what is in the pictures to date, the blood tests etc and/or may be willing to suggest other tests etc that could be done to definitely specify what else can and/or should be done.

Given the busy lives of doctors these days and extraordinary pressure under which they appear to operate this may be a 'big ask', however we will see what is possible.

For those former work colleagues who have already rung me or met with me in passing at the local shopping mall and/or who want to get together for a meal - thank you!

If you hear me being hesitant in accepting your kind invitations to get together and firm up a date - PLEASE do not take this the wrong way.

I will do my best to be available, however if someone offers me a choice between having a meal or having a test that may shed light on what is going on . . .