General Update...

Journal Entry

Date: May 16, 2013

Time: 11:33:05 AM EDT

Topic: General Update...

Sorry for not posting any updates for over a month. Dad has not had to go back into the hospital since the end of March and heart wise he has been stable. We have had updates on his cancer and he has started treatment at the Anderson Cancer Center.

Dad’s cancer is in stage 3b. First we were told 3a but further tests showed it to be worse than originally thought.  Dad was advised that radiation could eliminate the cancer but that it would also leave him unable to breathe or eat on his own. His esophagus and airway would be irreparably damaged and his quality of life seriously impacted. The second option was chemo-therapy.  The chemo will not kill the cancer but it should slow it down giving him more time.  Then there was option three.  Dad was tested to see if his cancer was a type that caused cell mutations.  He tested positive.  Now that may sound really bad but in this case it is a mixed blessing as there is a new drug that is 70% effective at treating that type of cancer.  It is taken as a pill once a day and the side effects are much less severe than chemo or radiation.  So… Dad started the treatment this week.

On another note, Jeannie’s Dad has been readmitted to the hospital.  He had to quit taking chemo (for colon cancer) a few months back as it killed off all of his white cells and made him quite ill.  He recovered from that episode and restarted the chemo last month and once again it devastated his immune system.  The family has asked that he not be given chemo any longer.  That prompted the hospital doctors to recommend Hospice care.  That suggestion stunned the family as they have not been told or led to believe that their dad is terminal.  Her family is going to discuss things amongst themselves to see what other options and assistance he can have.  The family was originally told all the cancer had been removed during surgery.  So why he needed chemo and why he continues to get sicker is not clear.