Good News
It's been a while since I've been able to post good news about my parents' health. Many of you know that my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer late last summer and subsequently underwent surgery to remove an obstructing tumor. He decided not to undergo chemotherapy or radiation at that time, which was one of the options the doctor offered him. The 5-year survival rate without treatment was only slightly better than the survival rate with treatment, and we were mostly OK with the decision.
After that, just before he was to undergo a colostomy reversal, a second tumor was discovered in the colon "stump." It had likely been missed during the first surgery. This discovery changed the picture. Until then, he was thought to have been cancer-free, and the presence of the tumor contradicted that. The doctor's recommendation changed at this point, and, before Christmas, oral chemo and radiation were both recommended. In general, the family concurred with the doctor's recommendation.
Dad wasn't sure he was ready to go the conventional treatment route, and he was interested in informing himself about other options. He was hoping for a miracle and was also trying some alternative treatments he could do at home. Meanwhile there were multiple unavoidable delays in starting with treatment. During this time we investigated some options for treatment elsewhere, and, one by one, those doors closed.
Dad was not unhappy with the delays. In one more effort to avoid treatment if it was possible, he asked for a second investigation to see if the tumor was still present and posing a threat. It was.
In preparation for doing the radiation, he had a PET scan yesterday, to see if any other place needed radiation besides the one tumor they already knew about. Here's where the good news surfaced. Dad has no evidence of any cancer elsewhere.
His lymph nodes were noted earlier to be swollen, and one lung had a dark spot. Both of these symptoms may also be attributable to other causes, but they can indicate cancer as well. Now we know that there is no cancer in those places, and it's a huge relief.
Dad is taking a Xeloda pill twice a day. It works to sensitize the cancer cells to radiation. His first radiation treatment happens today. It takes only 15 minutes or so, but it will mean a daily trip to town five days a week for the next six weeks or so.
Perhaps one of the best features of how all this has developed is that everyone is on board with what happens next. It's true, of course, that nothing can be perfect when dealing with cancer, but it's wonderful to see the hand of God in how everything has come together.
Lowell and Judy's family is going to Nicaragua and Costa Rica shortly, leaving in about three hitches over the next week or so. This news offers them a much more worry-free trip than would have been possible otherwise.
My mom has improved from having had, over the past few weeks, a UTI, the flu, and subsequent dehydration. She's still sleeping on a hospital bed because keeping her head elevated while sleeping seems to help alleviate her cough somewhat.
Mom is 84 and Dad is 85.
After that, just before he was to undergo a colostomy reversal, a second tumor was discovered in the colon "stump." It had likely been missed during the first surgery. This discovery changed the picture. Until then, he was thought to have been cancer-free, and the presence of the tumor contradicted that. The doctor's recommendation changed at this point, and, before Christmas, oral chemo and radiation were both recommended. In general, the family concurred with the doctor's recommendation.
Dad wasn't sure he was ready to go the conventional treatment route, and he was interested in informing himself about other options. He was hoping for a miracle and was also trying some alternative treatments he could do at home. Meanwhile there were multiple unavoidable delays in starting with treatment. During this time we investigated some options for treatment elsewhere, and, one by one, those doors closed.
Dad was not unhappy with the delays. In one more effort to avoid treatment if it was possible, he asked for a second investigation to see if the tumor was still present and posing a threat. It was.
In preparation for doing the radiation, he had a PET scan yesterday, to see if any other place needed radiation besides the one tumor they already knew about. Here's where the good news surfaced. Dad has no evidence of any cancer elsewhere.
His lymph nodes were noted earlier to be swollen, and one lung had a dark spot. Both of these symptoms may also be attributable to other causes, but they can indicate cancer as well. Now we know that there is no cancer in those places, and it's a huge relief.
Dad is taking a Xeloda pill twice a day. It works to sensitize the cancer cells to radiation. His first radiation treatment happens today. It takes only 15 minutes or so, but it will mean a daily trip to town five days a week for the next six weeks or so.
Perhaps one of the best features of how all this has developed is that everyone is on board with what happens next. It's true, of course, that nothing can be perfect when dealing with cancer, but it's wonderful to see the hand of God in how everything has come together.
Lowell and Judy's family is going to Nicaragua and Costa Rica shortly, leaving in about three hitches over the next week or so. This news offers them a much more worry-free trip than would have been possible otherwise.
My mom has improved from having had, over the past few weeks, a UTI, the flu, and subsequent dehydration. She's still sleeping on a hospital bed because keeping her head elevated while sleeping seems to help alleviate her cough somewhat.
Mom is 84 and Dad is 85.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
6:20 AM
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