Well. This is going to be the proverbial "process."

My regular cardiologist sent me for tests (TEE and cardiac cath) at the hospital (see above). Then follow-up with "structural cardiologist" and cardiac surgeon. So three of these guys are in on the action now in addition to the two specialists who did the in-hospital tests last week. Quickly becoming a cast of thousands!

The structural cardiologist recommends prompt open-heart mitral valve repair to ward off imminent heart failure. They would only offer the less invasive intervention if I were closer to 80 and were much sicker. And then prognosis is worse.

So a next step would be to do the tests that the cardiac surgeon has ordered. He will assess overall surgical risks and has already said he would be in consultation with my oncologist, so at least there's that.

I'm still trying to process all this news and info, especially since the docs are all wary about promising any real quality of life improvements. I ask if I will I feel less short of breath, less fatigue, less dizzy. The answer is always, "It will get worse faster if you don't have the surgery."

Not feeling good about any of it, though I realize these people have to manage expectations, and there are a lot of variables that come with open-heart surgery.

I have a six-month check-in with my primary care doc in in a week. She must have quite a number of post-op heart patients and perhaps can offer more helpful info about outcomes.

Thanks for listening. I am grateful for the group, my friends, the cats. Taking a couple days of down time. Next week I might be grateful that these doctors are trying to keep me ticking. But today I feel stonewalled, and it's clear that I don't have unlimited time to spend info gathering.