This post has been updated
During a routine visit to my primary care physician an increase in my blood pressure resulted in the need for additional tests. Those tests revealed a tumor on my left adrenal gland and it has a name: Pheochromocytoma.
Pheochromocytomas are tumors of the adrenal gland which produce excess adrenaline. Pheochromocytomas arise from the central portion of the adrenal gland which is called the adrenal medulla. The adrenal medulla is responsible for the normal production of adrenaline which our body requires to help maintain blood pressure and to help cope with stressful situations. A tumor which arises from the adrenal medulla and overproduces adrenaline can be a deadly tumor because of the severe elevation in blood pressure it causes. - http://www.endocrineweb.com/pheo.html
What are the symptoms of such a tumor?
Headaches (severe)
Excess sweating (generalized)
Racing heart (tachycardia and palpitations)
Anxiety / nervousness (feelings of impending death)
Nervous shaking (tremors)
Pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen Nausea (with or without nausea)
Weight loss
Heat intolerance
I’ve been scheduled for surgery here in Portland for later this week.
Unfortunately, before the surgery can proceed the tumor needs to be addressed medically before it can be removed surgically. So we've had to wait a bit.
We decided to bump our move up to Portland from St. Louis so that we’d have the benefits of family and friends to help us through this period. I’ve been at the hospital almost every day since we arrived in Oregon and it is so comforting to have people around to help out in a time like this.
I’ve been told time and time again that many people have died because of this tumor and never knew they had it. That is why I’m writing this post. Do you have these symptoms? If so, talk with your physician. It is worth checking out.
Your prayers and good thoughts are appreciated. My blog will go on hiatus later this week and I encourage everyone to go over and visit Street Prophets until I'm back and all better.
UPDATE: A reader over at Street Prophets read this post and remembered that he had read something about the same type of tumor in The New York Times. Click the hyperlink to read that article:
