Shannon's Crazy Cancer Finger Diaries

One of those little PVC pipes that hooks two 2 liter bottles together to make a tornado. Well one of the bottles got crunched. So I tried to untwist the bottles apart, the next day my middle finger was big and swollen. I taped it up like a good nurse who hates going to the doctors for something so dumb. I just thought I strained it and how dumb would that look going to the doctors over a strained middle finger. Then in April 2012 I bought, for the very first time in my life, brand new living room furniture. I worked my ass off to have the money to pay cash for my furniture and shopped all around for the best deal. Then when I bought it I carried my lovely new couches into my house and the next day I couldn't move my finger at all. This time I did go to the doctors because it hurt and this swelling was bad. After X-rays and an MRI all we could see is there was swelling, blood, fluid, and this small dot on my middle finger. So small biopsy was unable to do because they would most likely miss it. So small that they asked me to not be alarmed but did anyone in my family ever have bone cancer. No, no one ever had and yes I was alarmed. My finger got better in a week and I went thru a series of rechecks and re-xrays and two different hand surgeons who were all just as confused as me. In the end in July 2012 I had one last x-ray, the spot was still the same the swelling never came back and I was released to not have a return visit unless it hurt again. Then in February 2013 my middle finger started swelling out of no where again. First it was if I worked, then I would wake up with it sore. Then it swelled just driving my car so I made a return appointment. The day of the return appointment as I put my coat on to leave I was thinking god this is dumb, a swollen finger and I'm headed back to a doctor. I was sure I would be told it was nothing that my finger was just fat like the rest of me. Then as I put on my coat I caught my finger on the sleeve and the pain was horrible. It was so bad it knocked me to my knees and I yelled in pain. From then on anytime I moved my finger it was like someone was smashing it with a hammer and I just wanted to vomit. So I womened up swallowed my pride and went to the doctors. One X-ray later I was being talked to again by a hand surgeon who said the spot that was tiny last year is now the size of a jelly bean on the xray and I was being sent to a hospital to have an MRI and I would return on Monday to see the surgeon. During the MRI the radiologist came into the room as I was getting off the table and asked when was my last xray and how fast could he see it. I explained what had happened with my hand and he said make a return appointment ASAP that this MRI was 100% different from last year. On Monday that week I had an appointment where my usually perky PA and MD told me they thought I had cancer. I wanted to tell them not to worry I would be ok because they both looked so sad. I was told I needed to go have a full body bone scan to see if I had spots anywhere else and have a CT of my arm and that on Thursday I was having the tumor removed. I was told that if it was cancer and an aggressive cancer I would wake up without a finger. Because the tumor is already invading the pulley tendons in my finger. All I could do was sit there. Shake my head ok, agree with the plan and schedule all my visits. As I walked out of the office that day I teased the Physicians Assistant Sophie that I wanted a cool story to go with this. That I just didn't want to be the girl who's finger swelled up and grew a tumor from a tornado toy. That I wanted to tell people I rescued kittens from the alligator at the zoo or something. Well I guess I got what I asked for. I am now the adult who is way to old to have Ewing Sarcoma. The second rarest childhood cancer. Only 200 cases a year are diagnosed and all of them under 19 years old. That's what oncology said at my first visit. Now I am an adult who is going to be treated by pediatric oncology with the help of adult oncology and the help of 3 hospital systems. Thank God I went back for a dumb swollen finger, and thank you God for giving me great doctors for this interesting journey we are on. And Sophie, I guess I got my cool story I asked for!