Manogram

Unusual situations have a way of showing up in our household; it's almost like we're a lightning rod for medical weirdness. Here's yet another instance:

My husband had a nodular fascitis three years ago that had attached itself to tendons, muscle fibers, etc on his left forearm. By the time we'd waded through all the necessary red tape and insurance paperwork to actually get it removed, it was turning from "normal" to something more sinister. What was supposed to have been a 30 to 45 minute procedure, start to finish, turned into a 4 1/2 hour ordeal due to all the adhesions.

He's been "cyst free" for the last three years...only now something has (literally) popped up. Or, I should say, three somethings.

The noticeable one is under his right nipple, close to a lymph node. It simply wasn't there last Friday; by Sunday Z was noticing a distention and it was painful. Now, you can see it if you look at his bare chest. Well, at least, I can and the doctors can. Z doesn't generally run around shirtless, even though it's 105 degrees so far today. It is definitely a firm lump, and still painful. The doctor found two more rather suspicious lumps in his abdomen during the physical exam. Z has lost 14 pounds after getting out of the Army, despite no exercise whatsoever and eating all manner of stuff he couldn't get away with while he was still in the service, another point for concern.

Long story short, Z has an appointment at the hospital on Monday, July 6th in the Women's Clinic so he can get a mammogram and ultrasounds done. He's taking the news pretty well, and it doesn't really bother him or threaten his manhood any. He will follow up with a surgeon and could be having surgery as soon as a few days after his visit to the Women's Clinic. He's taking it all in stride. So why am I the one who wants to cry?

Z's doctor is a Christian, which is nice, and he was very blunt and to the point. He looked Z straight in the eye following his exam and said that we needed to pray that this goes away as quickly as it has shown up. And then he explained about male breast cancer statistics, which is apparently 1 out of every 100 cases. I had no idea, all I generally hear about is women's breast cancer issues.

So -- I guess I said all that to say this: please send up some prayers for my husband and his doctors, that this whole situation gets taken care of pronto and without lasting effects and NO CANCER.

Thanks. *sigh*

Lord, if you're testing us, what is it we're not getting? Or are we "getting it" and being used as examples somehow, or so we can help others in similar circumstances? I wish we knew, instead of floundering through all this stuff blindly sometimes. We don't feel completely rudderless, we know we are inexorably drawn by You through whatever our life situation is. And our faith remains firm, is strengthened even. But it would be nice to know the light at the end of the tunnel is not, in fact, a train in this instance. Amen.