Thymoma Update

There's nowhere to hide with a thymoma inside you. Yes, I'm back with another of my infrequent posts to this blog. I try to avoid thinking about my inner companion, hoping that it will just go away or at least stop growing. But growing it is and the pressure on my inner organs is being felt. Figure 1 shows an image from Wikipedia of a typical thymoma.

Figure 1

I hasten to add that this is my own diagnosis but there's not anything else that it could be really. The Wikipedia article adds that:

A third of all people with a thymoma have symptoms caused by compression of the surrounding organs by an expansive mass ... Once diagnosed, thymomas may be removed surgically. 

There are various stages described by the Masaoka Staging System:

I: Completely encapsulated

IIA: Microscopic invasion through the capsule into surrounding fatty tissue

IIB: Macroscopic invasion into capsule

III: Macroscopic invasion into adjacent organs

IVA: Pleural or pericardial implants

IVB: Lymphogenous or hematogenous metastasis to distant (extrathoracic) sites 

One hopes of course that the thymoma is completely encapsulated. I can't really ignore the reality anymore as it's starting to effect my daily functioning. Sneezes really hurt and I have to careful when I move about not to induce discomfort. Deep breathing is also met with discomfort. I need to seek medical help sooner rather than later.

Figure 2 shows how large these thymomas can grow:

Figure 2

My thymoma is a little on the right side of my sternum as shown in Figure 3 (marked with a red circle).

Figure 3