Quick Update!

Super news!  A couple of weeks ago, Dad had all of the scans done (typical at this point through chemo) and they came back showing that the chemo is working wonders!  50% reduction at this point!  The doctor raved that this is the best we could have expected!  This is incredibly exciting! 

Warrior

 People say that to beat/fight cancer you need to be a true warrior... but I think this might be taking things a little too literally.....

 Actually, this was from Saturday night.  Our church hosted a Pow Wow and as a sign of respect (or maybe just fun) they dressed Dad up in true Native American dress!  Take a good look at those dangles on his knees... those are deer toes people... seriously, DEER TOES!

 It was so fun to see Dad dressed up like this.  He has never had hair that could pull off what this head dress does for him.  Apparently he was wearing about a thousand dollars worth of apparel.  I am sure they kept a tracker on him or something to make sure he wouldn't try to make an escape looking as cool as he did.  There was a lot going on, that's for sure!  Besides the cool head dress, that stick poking out of his head (he almost poked a few people in the eye with that thing, the deer toes, the little sweat band (though I am sure it has some great Native name) and he also had a ton of handmade items on him. 

 Couldn't resist getting a picture with Dad that night!! (Pardon the glare off of BOTH of our foreheads!)  I took some video of Dad dancing around the circle during the pow wow... let's just say I know where I get my KILLER dance moves from!  It was entertaining for sure.  Nice to know I am not the only one who can't keep a beat!  I think I will hold onto the video for blackmail.  Yup, I think that's a great idea!  Anyhow, it was fun to see Dad as a WARRIOR!  Literally.

Side Note:  Chemo is going fine.  A little more tired, but seemingly going on with life as normal.  I mean, as you can see, he doesn't LOOK sick.  He seems to really be managing the chemo well and should be getting scans soon to see how well the medicine is working.  I will update then!

Another go around!

Writing this blog is tricky business.  I want to be informative but I also want to respect the fact that sometimes writing out the gory details doesn't exactly respect my dad's privacy nor does it really help matters.  That being said, here is what I've got to report:

A couple of weeks ago, my dad went to MD Anderson for his checkup.  This is the checkup he has every few months where they do endoscopies, cat scans, pet scans, etc.  After the endoscopy, they said things looked great and his esophagus looked very clean.  That's great news.  However, when the tests came back from the other scans, it showed some spots popping up in a couple places.  Of course, last time there was a spot on his lung and they just zapped that sucker and that particular spot disappeared.   This time they have chosen to go with chemo to hopefully attack any cancer that is in his body.

The chemo now comes in pill form (no more fanny pack.... too bad, I really thought they'd make a comeback!).  He takes 5 chemo pills a day.... Mom says they're like horse pills!  In addition to the pills, he goes in every other Monday for "the juice" which is administered through the port on his arm.  This round of chemo will take 6 months.

To be honest, I have no idea what all this means.  It seems to me, now that we have a bit of experience in all this cancer stuff, that cancer really sucks!  Once it shows its ugly self, it usually will continue to pop up and you have to deal with each little appearance on its own.  So, I think that is where we are at.  We aren't FREAKING out or anything... we are just dealing with another little appearance which should be taken care of with this round of chemo. 

Dad is looking and feeling good.  He is a bit more tired but is his normal self.  I think that is one of the must frustrating things... you expect if he is actually sick that it would be obvious, but it just isn't.  This is a good thing in that the better he takes care of himself and the healthier he is, the better able he is to recover quickly and fight off anything that comes in his way. A month or so ago Dad went to scout camp in west Texas and was hiking and running around like a teenager, so I think you can probably get an idea of how he really is in good shape!

So, this is where we are at.  Dad is doing great so far!  He will have some scans in the next while to make sure the chemo is doing its thing, but besides that life goes on as normal plus five pills.

Apparently, Dad needs more attention...

Below is a letter that my mom sent out to the family a few weeks ago:

Okay... so it seems my husband has decided that he hasn't had enough attention lately and needs the good folks at MD Anderson to give him a booster dose!

A few weeks ago Bill had a PET scan that showed a small "something or another" in his left lung.  They thought it was probably just a small infection or something.  So they just put a watch on it.  Well his latest PET scan showed that the mass was growing and was more then just an infection.  So, onto the biopsy we go!  The biopsy came back positive for lung cancer.  NOW DON'T PANIC AT THIS POINT!  It is a very small mass, is not in the lymph nodes (so no chemo) and should be able to be taken care of with a few more doses of radiation!  He starts radiation on Monday and will be done by the end of the week.  Then he will just go back on the watch list to make sure the radiation gets it all.  If it doesn't then we may have to go to option "B" - surgery.  But, we are confident we will not have to go that drastic!

There is no way of knowing if this is a new cancer or if this is a cancer from a seed cell that decided to choose that spot in his lung to continue to develop.  His surgeon seems to believe that by the shape of the mass that it is a new cancer... but either way... it's cancer and needs to be taken care of ASAP!

I want everyone to know that Bill can't get a pimple on his butt without it showing up on his PET scans every few weeks, so as long as we keep catching these things early, he will probably out live us all because the rest of us get to be ignorant about our insides!

Just wanted everyone to know!

On a happier note... my seventh grandchild should make his way into the world tomorrow (Erin will be induced tomorrow) and I will, of course, keep you all posted on that!

Love to all,
Maureen

I should have posted the letter weeks ago, but alas, you see that I have just had a baby, so let's give this blog's author a little break.

Dad finished his radiation last week and while a little tired, is feeling fine.  He is actually off on a business trip.  So, if all goes well, this will have zapped out the lung 'crud'.  I guess we just wait until his next scans and hope that it is all gone again.  We shall see and I will keep you all posted. 

PS- I was totally grossed out by the mental picture of a pimple on my dad's butt... but also quite pleased that my mother has obviously picked up on my good humor :)

....and the cat came back... so does cancer apparently.

Every few months Dad has had to go in for a series of tests to make sure that the cancer hasn't come back and that everything is ok.  Well, last month the tests came back and showed some cancer cells in his esophagus.  Having the cancer come back, specifically this type of cancer, was very likely and it was something that while we hoped we wouldn't have to deal with, were aware it was a high possibility.

It is important to point out that Dad does not have any tumors, only cancer cells were found.  This is good because it means that he doesn't need to do radiation (as there is not anything to shrink) and does not have to do chemotherapy at this time.  This is really good news.  What they did instead was basically scrape and burn out (sounds awesome, huh?) the inner lining of the area of his esophagus that was showing up as cancerous to take away the cells infected.  It was a one day, in and out procedure that was fairly non-invasive.  For a few weeks he has/will have some discomfort with some foods but that should be all the effects that he feels.

With any luck this will completely do the trick and it will never come back!  But likely this will have to be repeated fairly regularly as new cells appear. 

I told dad that he did this to himself because he was starting to gain some weight and his clothes were starting to get snug and so he needed a new way to diet... He didn't really respond, just gave me this look that I knew was saying "Yes Erin, I willed the cancer to come back to lose weight".  It was the same look he gives me every time I say something stupid like that.

We have wondered lots of things since this happened... mostly treatment options and why they are doing this and not that or that.  For now, Dad is ok with the course of treatment and so I think we are all ok with it and hope for the best.  For me, I don't find this news devastating but more annoying that we are continuing to have to think about this cancer thing again.  The emotional toll this takes on you is much worse than the physical... well, easy for me to say, Dad is the one who has dealt with all the physical stuff, but still. 

Again, I don't think my dad's recovery has been any less of a miracle now than I did before.  He really has had a much easier time than most and we are all blessed for that.  I will keep everyone posted as we know more, but for now, that's what's going on!

One year anniversary

Today marks one year since Dad was officially diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer. It's been a wild and crazy year filled with some hard times, but these were manageable given all the blessings and good times that came from our experience with cancer.

Not sure if I mentioned before how my parents told me that my dad had cancer or not, but it is a moment I will never forget. It is etched in my memory and I remember it as if it were yesterday. I always comment how they made sure to tell me in a 'public place', you know like as if I was the person being dumped in a relationship or something and they didn't want me to make a scene. They claim that the only reason they told me at the gym in the see through racquetball court was because it was the only time they could get me alone without the kids to talk to me. Whatever, we see it differently.

I didn't freak out... well, not there at the gym but as soon as I got home and searched the internet. Esophageal cancer is one of the fastest growing forms of cancer. Both in the different types of cancer and actually the speed at which this cancer can effect a person. It was really scary to read the statistics and realize, at the time, that it was more likely that my dad was not going to be here today than the likelihood that he would.

Oh how grateful we are for modern medicine. For cutting edge doctors who looked at Dad as an individual. They were able to give him a prognosis based on what his tumor looked like and where it was located as well as factored in his age, health history and physical health. They gave us hope as well as laying out the reality of what he was up for. What is most miraculous about Dad's cancer is how well he is doing since his surgery. Like I have mentioned before, I obsessively searched the internet to absorb all the information I could to prepare myself for what I thought was ahead of us. This meant I knew all of the things that could go wrong and in most cases do go wrong. It's amazing how little Dad is affected by the cancer on a day to day basis today.

Through this whole experience, I have been impressed with my dad and been able to see him in ways that I never have in the past. I saw him as someone stronger than I had ever known and at times also seen him weaker than I ever had before. I saw my dad as someone who only saw this experience as a bump in the road and took the information given him as a plan to beat what was facing him and that was it. I also saw my dad being a dad to me even when I felt like I should be taking care of him. I saw greatness in him that I think I knew was always there but I was able to see more of it than I ever knew existed.

After big storms, often the skies clear and the most beautiful weather occurs.  That is how I feel about this past year.  We had a challenging year where our family had to really be tested and think about each of our own mortality, but we would not exchange this year for anything.  We have been more united as a family than we have ever before.  Not just our little family, but our extended families as well.  Relationships have been developed more with family but also with friends and acquantances.  Through Dad's experience we have been able to give hope to others in similair situations and also been given a better opportunity to relate to others and the challenges that they face. 

Our lives are temporary.  There is no way to know for sure whether any of us will be here tomorrow or next week or next year or many years from now.  But we know now more than ever the importance of our families and the importance of loving everyone around us.