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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / October 2004My wife's condition - any thoughts?
Hello, First time poster here so please be gentle :) Brief background: My wife discovered minor blood in her saliva approx. 12 weeks ago which she felt dripping from the back of her throat. Went to her primary, was sent to an ENT resulting in treatment for a sinus infection. 1st round of Med's briefly subsided the blood for a while. She demanded a CT Scan, had one and they still said "infection". Put her on another round of stronger meds. Again, briefly subsided but not totally. Last week she demanded another CT Scan & an new ENT. Had her scan and the new ENT discovered tissue in her "hidden" or "forgotten" sinus cavity which was also approaching a bone. This past Monday, the ENT had her in for several biopsy tests and corrected her deviated septum. She recovered amazingly well from her septum - he was not a butcher.... Although we live in a fairly advanced medical town (thank God), upon researching the biopsy's, they were inconclusive & were shipped to NYC on Thursday. Now we have concerns of a tumor - cancer to malignant. The unknown is driving us crazy. Anyone hear of this? Thoughts? >Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >Had her scan and the new ENT discovered tissue in her "hidden" or >"forgotten" sinus cavity which was also approaching a bone. There are no hidden or forgotten sinuses. The deepest is the sphenoid - maybe you are referring to that but I have no idea... Watch out - a *very few* unscrupulous ENT's will use the "near a bone" or "near the eye" line to scare patients into immediate surgery. There is nothing wrong with surgery *in appropriate cases* but it should normally be done judiciously after second opinions/ >This past Monday, the ENT had her in for several biopsy tests and corrected >her deviated septum. She recovered amazingly well from her septum - he was [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >The unknown is driving us crazy. I have had biopses and you just wait for the result. What other course is tehre? Then get them redone or at least vetted by a second opinion if they are positive. Don't forget that the majority are negative. Try to go to a major University medical center for second opinions if you can. My hubby had the same as your wife. A Surgeon saying that the fungus was eating away the bone in his face, if he did not have further surgery. He was a specialist too. We went into Boston to a specialist for a second opinion and had more tests done by him. No fungus, no surgery needed.This doctor did a 6 month follow-up. That was 3 years ago. He has no problems with fungus growth or infections now. shirley Thank you for you insight. As of today we have not heard of the biopsy results so I am not sure if they'll call it "fungus" or not. We hope it can be easily solved in any event. > My hubby had the same as your wife. A Surgeon saying that the fungus was > eating away the bone in his face, if he did not have further surgery. He [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > shirley > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > felt dripping from the back of her throat. Went to her primary, was sent to > an ENT resulting in treatment for a sinus infection. First of all, I empathize with how you're feeling. Unexplained chronic bleeding can be scary--I've been down that route with my GI tract. The good news is how many simple things can cause bleeding--it can often turn out to be something far less serious than cancer. Does your wife have any other symptoms? > 1st round of Med's briefly subsided the blood for a while. She demanded a > CT Scan, had one and they still said "infection". Put her on another round [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > her deviated septum. She recovered amazingly well from her septum - he was > not a butcher.... I'm not sure what you mean by a "hidden or forgotten sinus cavity." But when her ENT did the septoplasty surgery, did he also go into that "hidden sinus cavity" to see what was in there? I assume he took one biopsy directly from there? When I had my sinus surgery, I gave permission to my ENT in advance to inspect my whole osteomeatal complex, and to correct any problems that he found during surgery that he hadn't known about in advance. That turned out to be a wise precaution, as that is exactly what did transpire. > Although we live in a fairly advanced medical town (thank God), upon > researching the biopsy's, they were inconclusive & were shipped to NYC on [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Anyone hear of this? Thoughts? Unfortunately, sinus cancer, while relatively rare, does occur. Smoking and work environmental exposures are a couple of the known risk factors. Hang in there. If the bleeding continues, and if that is her only upper respiratory symptom, then I strongly suggest you go to a nationally recognized medical center that is known to have a great ENT department. And get it resolved. The only bleeding that is normal for a woman to have is, well, you know. :-) Here's a good list. As you can see, Sloan-Kettering in NYC has a good ENT department--as well as being a famous hospital for cancer treatment. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/hosptl/rankings/specihqotol.htm You're in our thoughts. Believe me, I hope we don't have to refer you to alt.support.cancer. Good luck!  SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. Other symptoms are typical "stuffiness". Bleeding seems to have stopped as the ENT was able to cauterize some areas he felt was the source. I think the Sphenoid is sometimes referred to as the "forgotten sinus". The biopsies were taken directly from that cavity. We live in Rochester NY next to Strong Memorial Hospital (University of Rochester). Our hope is since there are many possibilities that it isn't cancer. She's such an active healthy woman other than this with no other issues. >> Hello, >> [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > > Good luck! > Other symptoms are typical "stuffiness". Ah, that is worth investigating anyway. Even that is a treatable condition. > Bleeding seems to have stopped as the ENT was able to cauterize some areas > he felt was the source. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > We live in Rochester NY next to Strong Memorial Hospital (University of > Rochester). If you want to get a third opinion to rule out cancer (worth it for your peace of mind and that of your wife), then Sloan-Kettering in NYC might be worth seeing. Their ENT department seems to know something about sinus cancer because S-K is a nationally known cancer treatment center. > Our hope is since there are many possibilities that it isn't cancer. The odds are certainly on your side. If your wife is a non-smoker who doesn't work around industrial chemicals or radioactive substances, that does lower the risk of sinus cancer (and lots of other cancers). Let's hope so! SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. Thanks for the insight on Sloan-Kettering in NYC. She's actually a 3rd grade school teacher so exposure to chemical's is extremely minimal. No hobbies outside of the workplace that would put her in jeopardy either. Thanks again. >> Other symptoms are typical "stuffiness". > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Let's hope so! the greater the anxiety the lower one's resistance. I know it is easy to say, Don't worry, but its true that a hopeful attitude adds to your resistance. Try distraction, listening to music, etc. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com >Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >1st round of Med's briefly subsided the blood for a while. She demanded a >CT Scan, had one and they still said "infection". Put her on another round >of stronger meds. Again, briefly subsided but not totally. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >This past Monday, the ENT had her in for several biopsy tests and corrected >her deviated septum. She recovered amazingly well from her septum - he was >not a butcher.... > >Although we live in a fairly advanced medical town (thank God), upon >researching the biopsy's, they were inconclusive & were shipped to NYC on >Thursday. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Anyone hear of this? Thoughts? Hello, You have been using air conditioning all summer, now you turn on the heat - need i say more . . . + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/benjamin.htm MustRead! http://WWW.PAMINIFARM.COM "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6 |
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