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!

Maybe it wasn't about the cancer....

Let me start by telling you all that three or four years ago my dad tried to get a heart stress test done because he had some pretty strong family history of heart problems and wanted to make sure his own heart was doing ok.  Well, insurance would not cover the test because he did not have a medical need for it.  That was then....

Since Dad has had cancer... he seems to be in "medical need" for every test known to man!!!  This would include the heart stress test.  So a few weeks ago he had the test performed and it showed some abnormalities so they wanted him to have another test done.  This test pumped a fluid into him that allowed them to see the heart and how it was pumping and was able to show them all the veins and arteries surrounding the heart.  We honestly didn't expect them to find anything of consequence, but given the strong family history, it was an important test to have done.

Well, they did find something... they found that a main artery that pumped blood to the entire left side of Dad's heart showed a significant blockage.  They said that without fixing this, he would surely eventually have a major heart attack which he would probably not live through.  

So, the very next day (last Wednesday), he went in and they put a stent where the blockage was.  It was actually a pretty minor procedure.  They insert the stent and a camera through his inner thigh and up to his heart... it's kind of incredible... Dad was actually awake during the procedure.  They said the blockage was more significant than they had thought so it was good he got it taken care of right away. He had to stay in the hospital overnight just so they could monitor him because of the blood thinners he needed to be on, but was released early the next morning and there was absolutely no recovery needed.

This was an incredible surprise, miracle, shock, blessing, and I am not sure what other feelings this all brought on, but we are so glad that it was something that was caught and taken care of quickly and easily.  It also brought some frustration that Dad was a bit of a ticking time bomb and a frustration that our insurance companies don't seem willing to fund preventative testing that would keep all of us healthier and catch more problems earlier on.

This also brings on the thought of what a miraculous recovery Dad had from the cancer and surgery, that maybe it wasn't about the cancer... maybe cancer is what saved Dad's life.