April 3, 2019 – Jodell and I had traveled to Tampa to visit Ryan. This sunny day I had the opportunity to lay out by the pool in the sun in order to thaw out from the cold Newfoundland winter. After laying on my back for a short period of time I rolled over onto my belly. Because of the tight fabric on the lounge chair, I felt a lump in my upper abdomen that at the time I thought might be part of the chair. After a quick chair inspection, I rolled back over on my back and felt a lump that I had not noticed before. My self-diagnosis came to the conclusion that it was my gizzard or some other normal part of the anatomy but made a mental note to report this to my cardiologists during an upcoming appointment.
April 11, 2019 – close to the end of a routine cardiology appointment, I casually mentioned the lump that I had discovered the week before. After a quick exam of the area in question, her reaction was not quite so casual. Not in these exact words but it was something like “holy sh**! That finding led to an echocardiogram, CT scans, bloodwork, MRI, liver biopsy, and admission to the hospital.
April 13, 2019 – discharged from the hospital. Now waiting for test results
April 15, 2019 – I got the call from the cardiologist to inform me of what they know to date which is: Liver cancer with a 20 cm tumor, in addition there is a “streamer” that goes from the tumor into my heart. Could be a clot or could be tumor. Also there are suspicious spots in both lungs.
April 16, 2019 – my initial appointment with the oncologist. He does not believe that the “streamer” is part of the tumor. He thinks it is a clot. He also believes that the spots on my lungs are not cancerous. A PET scan that is now scheduled for April 19 will determine what the streamer is. A lung biopsy may be necessary also. Once the results of the PET scan are known, a treatment game plan will be put into action.
The McVey Report 