After the biopsy almost 20 months ago, I didn't really do anything about that lump.. I had wanted to wait till I settle down in SG before I go and find a good and reliable SG surgeon to get it out.. that was the plan, which like many of my other plans did not go as intended..
The specialist-cum-surgeon said, after a very brief visual consultation last Sat, that the lump looked more like a pleomorphic adenoma (in layman term: a tumor) of parotid gland than an overgrown lymph node.. again, he can't really say for sure until a CT scan or a FNA is done. So it is up to him to decide the next course of action after he sees me today.. he might request for more tests/scans so as to determine and gather information about the tumor (well, I have to call it for what it actually is and stop referring it as a 'lump', right?) or he might schedule to operate on it immediately, since regardless of what that tumor may be, it has to be taken out.. if it IS indeed a pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland, the chances of it turning malignant gets higher the longer it stays inside my body (2% for less than 5 years and almost 10% for more than 15 years).. As I've had it almost a decade ago I need to get it out asap.. :x :x
No matter what his plan is, I will update it on this blog when I get back from the hospital..
Update @ 3.10pm
After waiting for 1.5 hrs, I finally got to meet the specialist.
He took a FNA which was super bloody painful, as he jabbed the needle into the tumor and poked around a couple of times to get as much tissue as possible for analysis.. :x :x :x He then smeared the tissues onto a few microscope slides and sent them to the lab.. At the same time, he is trying to get me an appointment to do a CT scan.. Oh ya, he took a few photos of my tumor - "for educational purposes" which I didn't mind at all..
So I can only wait and see...
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