Unexpected

      I went to the doctor today, mostly to discuss lupus, but also to check out a problem I've been having. I've had this chest pain ever since I got sick back in January. The left side of my chest has ached like I pulled a muscle, but it didn't get any better.
      Tuesday night it was hurting me quite a bit. So Wednesday I made an appointment with my doctor for today.
      Let's not draw this out. He found a mass on the left side of my chest. It's a growth of some sort. Tuesday next week I meet with a surgeon, and apparently I will have it removed Thursday or Friday.
      And that's pretty much all I know at this point. They don't want to do a needle biopsy on it because if it is cancer, that could spread the cells, and the mass is close to lymph nodes. So the decision is to remove it since it has to come out anyway.
      I will probably have to spend a couple of days in the hospital, depending on what the surgeon finds and how extensive the mass is.
      Am I scared? Yeah. But it could be a cyst or simply a benign growth. And if it is cancer, it doesn't seem to have spread. My lungs, heart, liver, etc., are all fine. So I might have to have a couple of rounds of chemo, but that should be it. I'll worry about that when I have to worry about it.
      Naturally all this is based on what we know now. We'll know more after the mass is removed. I'll let you know when the surgery is. A couple of my siblings are going to come up for the surgery if they can.
      I'm still in shock over this, I guess, so I don't have any particular thing to say. I just wanted to share it. Words have always been how I've dealt with things. Somehow it makes it better to see them. Maybe it's the illusion of control or whatever. Anyway, I would appreciate your prayers.
      One more thing, and I find this -- well, not really funny, but ironic that last week I was moaning about my computer. Talk about a perspective shift.