We got the critical pathology report from my last surgery yesterday, and the news is good. No tumors were found in any of the areas they worked on! So, I have been cleared to heal and start the post-cancer scanning that is done on all cancer patients to make sure it does not come back. For a year, we check every three months, then every six months for another few years, then, after five years, once a year. I got to the five year point before the current adventure restarted. Hopefully, we will reach five years again.
Happy now?
I wish I could say I am totally happy. I am happy, but lurking in the back of my mind is the knowledge that I have been here before, and still those evil cancer cells attacked. They may attack again, and that thought keeps me from really feeling the joy I might feel otherwise. I told my wife that we have moved from a life full of fear issues into one where we have trust issues.
Trust in God
My wife and I are both believers, so we put our trust and faith in God. As hard as it is to trust that I am cancer free, we both have to cling to trust in Him, and let that pull us through the hard times we still have to go through.
Houston visit
This trip to M. D. Anderson was longer than usual for a checkup. We had to see two doctors who do not meet with patients on the same day. So, we drove over to Houston on Tuesday evening so we could see the Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Yu, on Wednesday morning. Since I am having problems eating, we had to hunt out a place that had a refrigerator and microwave in the room. Oddly, most of the places we have stayed do not offer those (they expect you to eat in their restaurants, or use room service), so we ended up in a Hampton Inn. Cheryl brought the supplies I need to eat, o that worked out fine.
Plastics
We went to the Plastic Surgery area Wednesday morning and met with Dr Yu and another doctor. As I talked to Dr. Yu, the other doctor removed the last drain tube from my leg, then pulled all the stitches from my face. That worked well. Most of the feeling on that side of my face is gone, so I felt nothing through all of this.
Dr Yu was pretty happy with how things were healing, so he cleared me to do anything I like, and just be careful not to fall and hurt the new patch over my left eye. Unfortunately, he did not think we would be able to do much to fix my jawbone joint, so he feels I am going to just have to get used to a soft-food diet. No more steaks for me, I guess. We still need to see someone from the dental part of this place, so we are going to hope there might still be something they can do.
Dr. Yu wants me back in three months for another check, and at that point, he might do surgery to thin out the patches he installed over my eye and jawbone. If we opt for an artificial eye, the surgery will be different, so that is something we need to work on until the visit. I have started wearing the eye patch (call me a pirate, now).
After the visit with Dr. Yu was over, we did a bit of shopping, then settled into our room to while away the afternoon.
Head and Neck
The meeting with the primary surgeon, Dr. Lai, was scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 2:15pm. So, we had a lazy morning, and went shopping for a food thickener I need to eat thin liquids easier. We got all of that done and got to the Head and Neck center at the hospital about an hour early. We were hoping to get in and out quickly, but that did not happen!
Dr. Lai is the head of this part of M. D. Anderson, so he is pretty busy. We sat in the waiting area until almost 4:30pm before they took us back to see him. This was the most painful wait of all. We have not heard the final report on the surgery, the pathology report, and that is what we really want to hear. So, the longer you wait, the more your mind goes to places you do not want to go. I have said it before, the most agonizing moments in all of this are those spent sitting in a room staring at the door, waiting for the doctor who will give you the news. I might be good, it might be bad. You do not know, and desperately want to know.
When the door finally opened, it was Dr. Lai's Nurse Practitioner, a fancy term for assistant. We were handed a copy of the pathology report and went over all of the lines ending with "No tumor present". This is a huge piece of good news. All of the samples sent to the lab from the surgery came back clean meaning they got all of the existing tumors and there is no sign of cancer in the "margins" around where the tumor was found. Cancer Free! (At least at this time).
After we went over the report, Dr. Lai came in and we basically talked about next steps. He, too, wants to see me in three months for the next CT scan. Otherwise, we are cleared to heal, the painful wait was over, and we got the news we wanted. It is as good as it can be for now.
Back home
We left the hospital in a mixed mood. There was a huge bit of relief at hearing the good news, but it is all tempered with the knowledge that we have been here before. So, the fear is not totally gone, and takes a bit of the shine off of the joy we might be feeling. We did thank God for the news and fought our way through Houston rush hour, then drove the three hours back home.
More thanks
This blog is pretty amazing. I started it as a way to keep a few family members and friends up on my cancer adventure, but it has taken off and gained quite a following. There is a link to it on my high school class reunion web site, so I get a lot of email from old high school friends, which is great, but what is more amazing is the number of emails I get from people I do not even know. Apparently, Google is helping others who are fighting cancer find my blog as well. Great! If my words help them through their adventure, that is the best I can do. This battle is serious, hard to endure, and affects not just the person with the cancer, but all those who support that person. I hope my story helps everyone know what to expect, and know how to survive it all. No matter how things go, it helps to hear what others have gone through, and survived.
I will keep up this blog as things happen, and I welcome email from everyone who reads it.As usual, both Cheryl and I appreciate the support all of you are giving to us. It is very hard to sit at home and live this life, but we have to do it. Your words of encouragement, and prayers help us a lot. Thanks all of you for your support.
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