So, we got some updated news on my dad. For the last few weeks he has had increased pain as well as a lot of weakness. Yesterday, he had another chest CT scan and the results were quite grim. The main tumor in his chest is larger than it has ever been and the tumores in his liver continue to grow as well.
We came up to NJ last night so that we could be here for his oncologist's appointment. During the appointment, she basically told my dad that she does not think chemo will have an affect - though, he chose to get his chemo today. She also told us that she thinks he looks worse than the last time she saw him - which was only 2 days ago. The last thing she told us was that if he continues to deteriorate this quickly, we will need to get him into a hospice program by the end of next week. What sucks, for me, is that I spent almost 20 years of my life helping complete strangers, but when my dad gets sick, there is nothing I can do to help. Sorry to be such a downer, but I figured some of you might want to know. On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Scott Stroz <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanx, to each and every one of you. > > My dad has repeat scans yesterday. The results were a mix of good news > and not so good news. > > First, the good news. The main tumor in his chest was 'significantly > reduced' as well as some of the lymph nodes in his chest. The small > tumors that were on his kidneys are now gone. > > Now, the not so good news. The tumor on his pancreas is the same size > and the tumors on his liver are not only bigger, but there are more of > them. > > The oncologist gave him a few options, > > 1. Continue chemo, but use a different medication. > 2. Biopsy his liver to see if it is the same kind of cancer (this is unlikely) > 3. Look into getting him into clinical trials (newer treatment > modalities that are not yet FDA approved. > 4. Get a second opinion. > > Right now, my dad is leaning towards the chemo. Basically, the > different medication is the 'second line' of treatment for the type of > cancer he has. The good news here is that the side effects are not as > severe. > > I think the most significant change was in his attitude. While talking > to the Dr, his attitude changed from almost looking defeated to > looking determined to fight harder. He even sat up a little > straighter. During our last visit, he was saying things like 'I want > to fight' or 'I have too much to live for' but it seemed form his body > language that they were just words. Now he seems like he really does > want to fight this. I think that is as important as any other results > we may have gotten. > > The Dr wants him to take an extra week before starting chemo again to > giver his body some more time to heal after the last round - which he > said affected him really bad. > > When we got here on Wednesday (and each day since) he said that this > is the best he has felt in a long time. > > I will keep you guys updated of anything else comes up. > > On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 6:27 PM, Robert Munn <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. stay strong. >> >> On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 8:28 PM, Scott Stroz <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> ...prayers, meditations, etc. >>> >>> Back around Christmas, my dad was diagnosed will small cell lung >>> cancer which had metastasized to his abdomen. He has received 4 rounds >>> of chemo and on Thursday he has his follow up scans to see how well >>> the chemo has worked. >>> >> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:316990 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
