I realized that I never provided an update with final results from my June 27th surgery. This was the surgery to remove any residual tumor, especially above the elbow, which was not looked at during the previous arm surgery.
They did find tumor above the elbow, which they followed until it went inside some of the nerve strands and ended. For this reason, they had to cut some of the nerves, so I will have some permanent nerve damage. It might take up to a year to find out what function returns and what loss is permanent.
I asked Dr. Ogilvie if he believes that all the (macroscopic) tumor is now gone, and he responded yes. In addition, some additional tissue (fat and blood vessels) was removed from the surrounding area, and this came back as negative for the presence of any miscroscopic tumor. Between this, the negative liver pathology, the negative lymph node, and the negative lung CT scan from April (I am due for another one in the next month), it appears that the sarcoma was limited to the tumor that has now been completely removed from my left arm.
A month after completing radiation, I will have another MRI of my arm to look for signs of any cancer. I will have both arm MRIs and chest CT scans quarterly, and then less frequently, to monitor for recurrence, for the next five years.
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