Month: February 2025

Who Needs Cable When Trump is Your President

We are less than a month into the Trump Presidency and wow! Can this guy get results. I remember a comedy routine that Mike Warnke did many years ago. In it he talked of hitting them three ways, hard, fast, and continuously. That about sums up Trump. He is not only beating the crap out of the Swamp but making it a very public spectacle of the process. No sane person can defend the corruption that he and Elon Musk’s task force are outing. I had my doubts about Elon but in the early going, but thus far, Elon is a superstar.

The other humorous thing is how stupid the Federal Judges are that the Democrats are crying to about Trump taking away their graft and corruption. In essence, these judges are defending malfeasance and lawlessness. They don’t provide justice; they can only obstruct it.

The very idea that the duly elected executive of the Executive Branch of government has no power to oversee the agencies under his charge is just laughable. All the Supreme Court has to do is issue a one-line statement that the President has a Constitutional obligation to oversee the Executive Branch and then remand everything back to the lower courts. Case closed. Game. Set. Match.

I have to give credit to something Johnnie Does said in a recent editorial board meeting, “Trump is the type of Republican that the GOP promises us every four years and has not been able to deliver since at least Ronald Reagan.”

In politics, everybody loves a winner, as long as Trump continues to be successful, the GOP will gladly fall in line with him.

The Democrats are on the ropes or should be in a sane world. Sadly, for us, Liberalism is a mental (and spiritual) illness. The thought that Democrats will come to their senses is a dream. All they want is raw power. Remember, whatever else they may say, government is their GOD.

Yes, I know that it is unreasonable to expect the dead to act like the living; but I hope that those of us that are alive would at least make them jealous enough to consider the benefits of being real, live, boys instead of wooden automatons.

Democrats are lifeless puppets once their strings are cut

As good as all this is, until Congress makes Trump’s actions permanent, this is just a sideshow. It is encouraging how quickly Trump’s nominees are being approved. We have reason to hope.

Another Cancer Update

These last few weeks have been horrible, informative, and whatever the heck is the opposite of fun. I’m frankly a little depressed and discouraged as I hope to explain below.

The fluid in the lungs is back. It is not as bad as it was before it was drained in the hospital, but it is definitely returning. Even a dumb guy like me could clearly see the horizontal line showing the liquid level on the X-ray a few days ago. The pathology on the liquid came back as positive for cancer which was no surprise.

Today was yet another CT scan of the chest. I think this is the third one in two weeks. It is clear to me that the doctors are expecting to find cancer in the tissue surrounding the chest cavity. The write-up of the CT scan seemed to confirm that without coming right out and saying it.

Below are some of the medical terms used in the write-up

Ill defined/irregular pulmonary nodules

Nodules in the lungs are not necessarily cancer but could be. Given everything else happening, nobody is even suggesting that they be tested. It’s pointless.

Multiple enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes

When the lymph nodes in the mediastinum become enlarged, it is called mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Mediastinal lymph node enlargement can occur from a wide range of diseases, either on its own or in association with other lung conditions. It usually stays less than 10 mm in diameter.

What Does Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy Mean?

Mediastinal lymph nodes are typically the first ones that cancer cells from the lungs will trap, providing doctors have the means to know if cancer is spreading.

Under the heading Impressions

Recurrent pleural collection

Pleural effusion, which some people call “water on the lungs,” is the buildup of excess fluid between the layers of the pleura outside your lungs. The pleura are thin membranes that line your lungs and the inside of your chest cavity.

Pleural effusion

Interlobular septal thickening and may be due to edema or lymphangitic carcinomatosis

Interlobular septal thickening is commonly seen in patients with interstitial lung disease. On HRCT, numerous clearly visible septal lines usually indicates the presence of some interstitial abnormality. Septal thickening can be definied as being either smooth, nodular or irregular and each likely represents a different pathologic process.

INTERLOBULAR SEPTAL THICKENING

(The above URL links to an example of Interlobular septal thickening.)

Lymphangitis carcinomatosis is the malignant infiltration and inflammation of lymphatic vessels secondary to the metastatic spread of malignancy from a primary site. The carcinomatous infiltration of the lymphatic vessels almost always occurs in the pulmonary interstitial lymphatics

Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis

The quotes below are in the linked study under the heading “Prognosis”

Diagnosis of pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis is considered to represent end-stage malignancy, with the life expectancy being about six months.

Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis

Bruce et al. observed death within three months of presentation of respiratory symptoms in half of the patients, and Zhang et al. noted that almost 72% of the patients died within seven months of presentation.

Folks, this diagnosis is eerily similar to the cancer that took out my wife’s mother about ten years ago. My wife’s disease is above the diaphragm while her mother’s cancer was below. Both are lethal.

However, this is not all the cancer news for the week.

As stated in a previous post, the cancerous cyst that was removed in November grew back in short order and is now larger than its predecessor. It was supposed to be removed this week via an outpatient procedure but after taking one look at it, the doctor said it was too big and would need to be removed in the hospital operating room. This is scheduled for next week.

Also, it has been agreed that my wife will be getting a stint in her esophagus at the end of the month. This is intended to hold her esophagus open to the max that it currently opens which is about 12 millimeters. Hopefully this will allow her to eat more solid types of food. Poached eggs are a rather boring breakfast every day.

The thought that my wife could have as little as three months is very disturbing. I thought we would have more time together. What is happening to her respiratory system looks to be the beginning of a cascading failure of bodily systems.

I feel especially sad for the children. They kind of know what’s going to happen to their mother but…