On January 24, 2022 Chris began having chest pain. As the week went on the pain increased and he ended up in the ER. This is where the journey begins.... A CT was ordered by his Cardiologist and this was completed in the ER. The CT showed a healthy heart!! However, there was a large anterior mediastinal mass that could not be identified. The next weeks were very busy meeting with doctors and dozens of appointments.
On February 8, 2022 he had a sternotomy to remove the mass. The mass was large with vascular involvement. Chris's left phrenic nerve and recurrent laryngeal nerve were both removed with mass causing left vocal cord and left diaphragm paralysis. On March 7, 2022 we found out the mass was indeed malignant; a large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. The tumor originated on his thymus gland. He was referred to MD Anderson for treatment. And so begins his journey....