Tuesday, May 24, 2011

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 :)