PET Scan

Just as I sent out the update, the doctors called with a PET scan appointment. I wanted you all to know so you could pray specifically this. It is this Wednesday morning at 7:00 am. They have put a STAT on it so that we can have the results before the surgery on Thursday.

Monday, January 19

This morning Dad went for his treatment as usual. Dr. Hardacre and Dr. Holmes apparently discussed the situation with each other and some other doctors as well. The plan is to remove the lymph node, biopsy it and go from there. There are several different scenarios and "ways" this could go so we will just have to PRAY, wait and see. Our plan is this..tomorrow he will go for radiation treatment as usual. On Wednesday he will have a normal treatment as well and meet with Dr. Hardacre who wants to numb his throat and go in to look around. It is rare that this type of cancer would "jump" to the other side, so both doctors want to look around and explore further. Again, the lymph node has only been diagnosed as "suspicious" at this point, but we want to be very thorough in the investigation. On Thursday we will go to Birmingham to have the lymph node cut out by Dr. Holmes. It is an outpatient surgery done at St. Vincents. The surgery is scheduled for 1:00 and should take about 45 minutes. On Friday, he can choose as to whether or not he wants his treatment that day. If so, great. If not, they will most likely continue on Monday. He only has 12 remaining on the left side and Dr. Hardacre indicates that they should be able to finish them up without disruption even with this surgery. (That is good news.) We will then wait for the biopsy results and move to the next step. I do recall Dr. Hardacre mentioning that he wanted to set Dad up for another PET scan. I am not aware of that being scheduled yet. They are hard to go through and then you have to WAIT for the results. Also, Dad is meeting with a Dr. Becdoch on Friday afternoon here in Decatur to talk about the possibility of chemotherapy. I don't know much about chemo, but Dr. Hardacre did mention that if he did have to add it, it would most likely be a pill. Finally, we will go back to Birmingham on Monday to see Dr. Holmes for a follow up. Hopefully by then we will have the big picture and it will be bright.

It is overwhelming today and we will just have to pray and wait for everything to unfold. Again, God has His plan and He will reveal it to us. Please pray for this whole situation and our entire family. I will keep you posted. Thank you all!

Results

Well, Dr. Holmes just called Mom and Dad. The results of the biopsy showed "suspicious squamous cell carcinoma". It is definitely not a swollen saliva gland. The biopsy sample was not able to say DEFINITELY what it was. Because it came back "suspicious", it must be dealt with and taken out. There are a couple of different ways to deal with it...none good for Dad, but nevertheless it must be done. Dr. Holmes will speak with Dr. Hardacre in the morning to discuss the different routes. He (Holmes) would like to add the right side in to the course of radiation, not stopping the current treatment. If it is still there after treatment, it would need to be cut out. We learned that some radiologists might prefer to cut it out first then treat with radiation. If that happens, then it will halt the current treatment on the right side and we fear he would have to start all over. It is all a little confusing right now and I will let you know a definite course of action tomorrow after the two doctors have discussed the plan. Please pray for the doctors to make a wise decision and for Dad to obtain peace in this situation. Pray that THIS IS IT ....no more surprises! Pray for the side effects to stay manageable. It is SO hard for him to even THINK about adding more treatments. Also, keep your kind phone calls, emails and visits coming. You may never know how much it helps to know so many people are cheering for you! It really lifts him up.

In Him,
Michelle

No News!

Well, for those of you waiting to hear the results of the biopsy today, we did not get a call. I guess we interpreted that Dr. Holmes would know by Saturday and so would we. When I asked him when he would have the results he said, "hopefully by Saturday...I will call you." I guess we will have to wait until Monday. I will post as soon as I know.

Michelle

Dr. Appointment/Birmingham

We have just returned from the appointment with Dr. Holmes. He was immediately concerned with the swollen area and indicated to us that he did not think it was a salivary gland due to the location and the fact that Dad didn't have any pain in that area. Instead, he suspects a lymph node that may have cancer cells in it. Having said that, he did a biopsy and hopes to be able to identify that as the problem. In simple terms, he said that if there had been a cell left over after the tumor was removed, it may have tried to travel through the nodes on the left side and met congestion because of the radiation treatments. In response, it simply may have taken another route to a lymph node on the right side. If this is the case, the plan is to continue radiation treatments and include the right side of the face. If the biopsy is not able to accurately identify this as the problem, Dr. Holmes wants to go in and remove the swollen "whatever it is". The results should be back by Saturday and we will go from there. Dr. Holmes did indicate that he could be wrong and that it might indeed just be a swollen saliva gland, but he didn't think so. That being said, we have to be in prayer for a definite diagnosis so we can take care of it.

Although it is not the best news, I feel grateful that it has just appeared in the past week or so and we can identify it and move forward. I thank God for his subtle messages. It is like he gave Dad the swollen gland so that we and the doctors would know that we need to be treating a larger area. For that I am grateful.

Dad (and Mom) will need all of our prayers. Pray that their spirits be lifted and that they lean on God for every ounce of strength they need. Pray that they see JOY in all circumstances.

I will update once we hear the results and know the plan.

Love,
Michelle

Monday, January 12

I am writing to remind you all to continue to pray and lift up Papa during the days of radiation treatment. He is right in the middle of his treatments and things are pretty rough. His throat is severely painful and swallowing is almost impossible. Just about the time his appetite returned and he had worked up to eating mostly solid foods, we are moving back to liquids (soups and such) because they are just easier to get down. His spirits have been really good considering. Today was tough. Please pray that the treatments continue to be successful and are as easy on him as possible. Pray that he can see the end (16 more) and keep his head held high. It is NOT FUN!

Last week he found a swollen area on his right side down by the lower jaw. He showed it to Dr. Hardacre and he suspects it is a swollen saliva gland trying to overcompensate for the glands not working on the radiation side. He gave him a few things to try and see if he could shrink it. Today it hadn't gone down much so we are going to Birmingham tomorrow to see Dr. Holmes and let him look at it and go from there. Please pray that it is something simple like a swollen gland that can be fixed easily.

I will post and let you know.

Thank you all!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you on behalf of our entire family! We had a wonderful Christmas and were so thankful for dad feeling well and that we were able to celebrate in our usual way. We gathered at Mom and Dad's house for Christmas Eve after church for Stephen's homemade pizzas. Dad ate them up just as well as we did! It was fun. We all headed to Mamaw's house for Christmas morning breakfast and then picked up Jordan and Patrick to head back to Decatur for the opening of gifts at Nana's. It was fun and yummy. Tonight we celebrated the beginning of 2009 with dinner at Nana and Papa's. As per Dad's request, we brought in the new year with spaghetti pie! Probably not your traditional New Year's feast, but it worked for us and we loved it.

The treatments are going well and as expected. Although they started about two weeks ago, Dad has actually only had 9 treatments (I think) because of the holidays. Mom and I went with him on Wednesday to hear a report from the doctor. He is tolerating them very well. His throat is getting really sore and stays a little dry all the time. You will see him with a water bottle at all times. This is good for two things..(1) It helps to keep his mouth wet and (2) it helps keep him hydrated which is very crucial. Dr. Hardacre prescribed him a mouth wash to use 30 minutes before meals and at bed time when the pain in the throat is the worst. It is supposed to smooth and coat with a little numbing medicine in it too. He hasn't used it yet, I guess he is waiting as long as he can before it is absolutely necessary. He also gave him some pain pills to have if he needs them in the coming weeks as the throat pain is expected to increase. At least we know what is coming and he is prepared. Dad told us that his taste buds are really starting to change too. All this is normal and will come back after a while. Mt. Dew is out and apple juice is in! Crazy, huh? The Dt. Mt. Dew King is not doing the dew! Coffee has also left the building! Oh well, that is not all bad. We could all do without the caffeine intake anyway!

Please keep Dad in your prayers as the next few weeks will be tough to endure. We are just thankful that we can fight it as unpleasant as it may be. Thank you all for your constant love, prayers and concerns.