Week one and first chemo treatment

7-20-16

Monday, dad was in a great deal of pain in his abdomen.  A trip to the ER was considered… but just in time (that’s often how God works) he was able to get some pain medication that helped.   (well, it helped a little bit)

Tuesday, dad made his way to the car and on to the doctor’s office.  This was a difficult task because he was weak and in pain.  Dr. Agrawal was troubled by his appearance.  Following an exam and lab work, Daddy was told he was too weak for chemo and the doc wanted to put him in the hospital. He said no. The doc suggested some iv fluids and steroids – then re-evaluation.  Following that iv, he was deemed strong enough to go on with the chemo.  He completed the chemo and came home feeling better! 

 -New treatment plan: chemo at Dr. Agrawal’s office Tues, Wed, and Thurs. and another complete examination next week.

*Just got off the phone with dad (Wed.2pm) and he sounded great!  They completed treatment 2 and are on their way home. :)

Feel free to leave comments below.  It is my hope that our transparency will benefit others.

The Journey Begins…

July 15, 2016

Today we found out that my Daddy has lung cancer.  It is called stage 3 small cell lung cancer.  It has metastasized (spread) to the liver, which is “riddled with it”.  It is also in the lymph nodes around and between the lungs and liver.  It is an aggressive form of cancer that is not “curable”; but it is treatable.  This was confirmed by a liver biopsy.  

-From a liver biopsy they can know if cancer is present and where it originated.  For further explanation, the doc likened it to a foreigner in our country.  He, (the doc) lives and works in the US; but you can look at him and tell that he was born in India.  It is important to know where a cancer originated because you can expect certain things based on the place of origin.  Each type of cancer can be expected to take a certain path… lung cancer tends to spread to the brain, bones, liver, and adrenal glands. (cancer.net)

They also did several other tests.  MRI(brain scan) – came back clean.  Bone scan – came back clean.  Spinal tap (to test the fluid that goes up and around the brain) – initial results are clean; but we don’t have the final report yet.  If the spinal tap comes back clean, they may repeat it.  (due to the terrible headache that he has had for three weeks)  

His oncologist (cancer doc) is Dr. Agrawal.  Mom and I really like him.  He is very personable, approachable, and real.  His treatment recommendation is IV chemo once every three weeks.  (Surgery and/or radiation are not applicable in this situation.) Dad’s response to the treatment suggestion was: “I’ll do it!”  His first treatment will be next Tuesday. 

Now, I am not happy about putting poison into a sick body… But I trust Dr. Agrawal.  He was very open to adding alternative treatments in addition to the chemotherapy.  I have been looking into detoxification of the body and nutritional treatments.  With that being said… I know that I am not the patient, and anything I say is only a suggestion. BUT, I am going to keep telling dad not to eat that ice cream because it is full of sugar AND sugar feeds cancer! However, (reminder to self…) I cannot control another human being.  The human being that I am referring to is old, stubborn, and strong-willed!!  I Love Him.

Feel free to leave comments below.  It is my hope that our transparency will benefit others.