I had the appointment with the surgeon today. I journeyed to the hospital via SkyTrain, initially unaware that there was a World Cup game happening that afternoon downtown between Canada and Qatar. I say initially unaware because every station from Sapperton to Stadium was filled with people bedecked in red Canadian jerseys. Some people also had miniature Canadian flags, Canadian hats, capes and pretty much any kind of clothing or object you could wear and put a Canadian flag onto. I picked up on the fact that there just might be a game happening.
This didn’t actually impact my trip in any way, it was just interesting and a little weird to observe.
The security theatre downtown was impressive, especially when viewed from above on the SkyTrain. You’d never guess it was just a soccer (football) game.
Anyway, I arrived over an hour early and chose to have lunch at the Wendy’s that has stood at the corner of Cambie and Broadway since time immemorial. Seriously, I’ve lived here since 1986 and I don’t remember it ever not being there.
I ordered the Classic Chicken Combo. The chicken burger was hot, so either freshly cooked or freshly nuked. It was also juicy, so I’m guessing the former. I still had that issue I always have with their chicken burgers where the mayo and tomato combine to provide a slippery exit ramp for the patty and it starts squipping out of the bun. I finished the chicken, but not the bun. Gotta watch those carbs.
This Wendy’s also had one of those universal drink fountains where they give you a cup and then you select which of the thousand beverages you want, and you can mix them if that’s your thing. The last time I encountered such a device I gave up and asked for a drink at the counter because I could not figure it out. I don’t know if the machines have changed, or I have changed, but this time I:
- Pressed the button for Coke Zero
- Placed the cup on the circle
- Pressed the button that said Press to Fill (or something like that)
And I got my Coke Zero and that was that.
After lunch, I finally made my way to the hospital building and upon arrival, the office assistant gave me a form and told me to go down to the third floor for an X-ray, which I did. I then returned and a short time later met with the surgeon. He grumbled about the IT system because he did not have the X-ray yet, though he should have. He said he would phone with the results when he eventually got them, good or bad, though he said he did not expect any issues.
He looked at my healing incisions and declared them fine. He gave his blessing to lift more than 10 pounds and to go running or otherwise resume normal activities.
Then he told me, in a sort of understated way, that I had cancer.
Had being the operative word.
Having read the pathology report, he gave me the findings:
- The tumour (for it is now known as such) was 100% successfully removed and showed no signs of growth or spreading.
- It was thymoma, a type of cancerous tumour that is “less aggressive”, initially shows no symptoms and is rare enough that only about 400 (the equivalent of maybe 45 Canadians) Americans get diagnosed with it every year.
I will have a CT scan (with no dye, yay) next May to make sure no new shenanigans are at play in my chest, as there is a non-zero chance of recurrence, though it is in the low percentage range.
The relevant quote from the Wikipedia article linked above is this:
One-third to one-half of all persons with thymoma have no symptoms at all, and the mass is identified on a chest X-ray or CT/CAT scan performed for an unrelated problem.
It turns out I was quite lucky to have a kidney infection that resulted in a CT scan back in January 2025. Thank you, malfunctioning kidney! (The kidney is better now.)
It would be very nice indeed if I had no more health issues for the rest of the year. Or ever again. I’ll even keep the seasonal allergies if needed.