Update on Al #4

Short but sweet.

Had a call from Dr. Berquist's office this evening. The PET scan shows that Al's cancer has NOT spread -- it is localized to his trachea only. This is the VERY best news we could get from this test!!! I can breathe again!

Dr. Berquist sent the results via fax to Dr. Mathisen (in Boston), and we are awaiting further instructions/guidance/details from him.

We had a rather 'normal' weekend. Al was off this past weekend, so I put him to work in the garden, helping me divide the Maiden Grass. (Rich, stop by and pick up a clump or two -- SOON!) He finished up the bathroom -- which has the seal of approval of everybody who's seen it (Pam & Vic, thanks for the suggestions). And Al got started on his veggie garden -- none too soon, but I convinced him he should still have one, anyway.

We've had nice visits with our 'in-state' sisters the past few days, and it's really helped us relax a bit. The support makes such a big difference in our outlook. And this GOOD news doesn't hurt!!! So much for short and sweet!

Thanks everybody, for your e-mails, notes, cards, calls, thoughts and prayers. Keep 'em coming; they really DO make a difference in our lives.

xoxoxo
Sharon

Update on Al #3

Hello again, everybody!

The information we've learned is that tracheal cancer is very rare, and you only really get one shot to get it 'right'. As you know, the plan was to head to Houston to the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas to outline a course of treatment. Dr. Berquist spoke with them about Al's situation, but they didn't seem all that interested in his case -- putting it off several weeks. Dr. B doesn'twant to wait that long, so he called a surgeon friend in Wichita, who recommended a specialist at Massachusetts General. His name is DJ Mathisen, and his group specializes in tracheal cancer. When a door closes, a window opens.

If they can't remove the entire tumor via surgery, they won't do surgery at all. Reducing its size doesn't improve the prognosis with this area of cancer. So Al's CT info has been Fed Exed to Boston today, and he's having a PET scan in Wichita on Friday, followed by a heart stress test (just to be sure he's up to surgery; he is) on Monday. Dr. Mathisen will review all this information, and recommend surgery or not.

The scariest news to date is that if he doesn't have successful surgery, he cannot be cured medically. He would receive radiation therapy and chemotherapy here at home to hopefully reduce the tumor and keep him comfortable. I think Dr. Berquist is only giving me as much information as I can chew on at one time; but that little tidbit last night was the toughest one. Hopefully, they will assess him long distance, we'll go to Boston for surgery, come home for some radiation and chemo, and be good as new.

We thought we got through the hard stuff five years ago with his bypass surgery, but that was NOTHING compared to this. EVERYTHING is subject to change at a moment's notice with a simple phone call. I've been on auto-pilot until today, but I'm having a little trouble getting that last bite of information down.

Al's gone off to the grocery store -- he was hungry for cucumbers. And he promised to deliver a Lottery Ticket (long-running joke for the past 18 months) and bring me some apples. My niece loaned us the DVD of 'Ray', so we're going to try to relax and enjoy a movie, and just REST. I think yesterday sorta wore him out, and he was quite busy at work as well, so it's time to rest.

xoxoxo
Sharon