Another Giant Needle

Only a few days after my ER visit, I was in the office of a pulmonary and lung specialist. This particular doctor was cool because he was confident and efficient. He spoke matter of factly and clearly. They did another x-ray and confirmed that the fluid had returned. The doctor pointed out this was rather rapid. The frustrating issue was that not all the lab results from my ER visit had come back. The only thing we knew was it was not likely an infection.

He then said he needed to drain the fluid again and he would reorder the lab work focused on cytology which is to determine the exact type of cells found in the pleural fluid.

This doctor performed the thoracentesis so confidently and effortlessly. He had a very practiced hand, given this was his specialty. There was hardly any discomfort. I never even knew when the large needle was inserted or withdrawn. Again, more than a liter of fluid was drained and it too was bloody.

Given that malignancy had climbed to the most likely option, the doctor ordered a PET scan. This is the definitive imaging test for spotting tumors and checking for metastasis (spreading of cancer to other places in the body).

We still did not yet have definitive positive results for cancer, but this was now the focus of all current and future testing. We simply needed to wait for the lab results and do further testing.

-Jeremy