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.