"Prognosis is Excellent"

Made it back to the hotel after an afternoon spent at the hospital. 

After yesterday's good news, here's impetus to keep praying. 

James has a lung tumor. There is a 90% chance it is malignant. (Whew, that is tough to write; I am sure it is not easy to read either. Sorry!)

Dr Yongyudh, the pulmonogist who did the bronchoscopy, has sent the biopsy to pathology. He called me to his office to show me pictures from the bronchoscopy and to tell me the diagnosis & treatment. I asked, "So, the prognosis is...good?"  He said, "The prognosis is excellent. EXCELLENT. Do NOT worry." Then he asked me about James and I, and told me about how much time he had spent in America to reassure me of his skill, I guess. He later found me in recovery to reassure me again that everything is going to be OK and to please not worry. (Such a kind doctor.) 

He is recommending that James's right lobe be removed. He is also recommending a PET scan and MRI to ensure that the tumor is contained, which he believes it is. (Why prognosis looks so good; cut it out and move on, apparently.)  James's lungs will expand over time to regain capacity. 

He says treatment will be 2-3 weeks. Not so bad, but I told James this was really poor planning on his part. It would have been much better if he had gotten sick last year when we didn't have much going on. =)

Oh, for trivia's sake - I asked whether this was normal, Dr Yongyudh says this kind of problem is not to be unexpected given the pollution/second hand smoke James has been around his whole life. Jeepers. 

We will meet with the doctors on Saturday and will have a lot more information on what the exact course of treatment is. 

Again, thank you all for praying, especially as we sort out what to do with our lives for the next few weeks!