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Cancer sucks. Period.
{{{{{Hugs!}}}}}
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Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
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Sorry I'm not replying to everyone individually, but since I was an idiot and burned my hand pretty badly in the kitchen yesterday, it hurts to type, and I have to keep this kind of short. 
The good news is that the cancer hasn't spread as much as they feared. The bad news is that it's definitely in his liver too, inoperable, metasticized, Stage 4. That's bad. They're still starting him on chemo ASAP, but the best they told him to hope for is that it'll ultimately make him more comfortable and give him a couple more years - liver cancer pretty much always comes back.
I'm getting pretty depressed. I also think I've gained another 10lbs in the past couple weeks from comfort eating. :P Sheesh.
Anyway, that's the update... probably the last one for a while, now that he has a solid diagnosis and treatment plan.
Thanks again for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers... it's really been comforting to me to know that so much good energy is heading Dad's way.
*HUGS* to all!
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Oh sweetie, that just sucks. I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something more for you and your family. Please let us know if we can help in anyway. Love and hugs
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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I'm so sorry to hear the cancer has spread, Casey. I know this has to be so hard on both you and your dad.
Please remember, though, that 2 years is a lifetime in cancer research. There is simply no way to know what new treatments will be available that far down the road.
Take care of yourself - take care of that hand - and if I can help or you just want to talk, you know how to reach me.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Thanks, Sand!
#281756 - 09/12/06 08:31 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I did mean to reply to you personally further down the thread. Dad seems pretty happy with his doctors so far - this is actually his second oncologist, his first was a Dr. Wu, and he didn't like him one bit - but this new oncologist seems good. He toyed with the idea of going to Sloan-Kettering, but he's done a ton of research (it's basically all he does in his free time now), and it seems that Sloan wouldn't really do anything differently than what his current team of doctors are doing.
Still, I will keep you in mind if he suddenly decides he wants a third/fourth/etc opinion... because he might, depending on how the chemo goes.
I'm having an especially hard time with this because a friend of mine lost her father to stomach/liver cancer. They tried chemo on him, but it wasn't long before they sent him home with a prescription for morphine "to make him more comfortable", and a month later he was gone. I do have to keep reminding myself that that was 15 years ago, and they HAVE made advances in treatment in that time. Chemo isn't the same as it was back then. So yes, I'm fighting to be optimistic about this.
Thank you again, Sand. 
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It does sound bad, but I'll continue to hope for more positive things to come. Please take care of yourself.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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Re: Thanks, Sand!
#281775 - 09/12/06 09:39 AM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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You're more than welcome, Casey. If your dad's oncologist is a good doc *and* your dad is happy with him, that's the best possible combination. As for Sloan-Kettering, I agree: if I was looking for cutting edge, experimental treatment for a rare type of cancer, they'd be at the top of my list. If I needed a standard cancer treatment, I'd stay closer to home. (And think how much it says about how far cancer treatment has come that I can talk about a "standard" treatment.)
I'm sorry about your friend 15 years ago and I can understand why that would make this even harder for you. But 15 years truly is a long time. Fifteen years before I was diagnosed, at least two and possibly a third of the four treatments I got didn't even exist.
Take care. I'll be thinking of you and your dad.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Re: Casey
#281780 - 09/12/06 10:07 AM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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Would it be possible for you and your dad to have a little weekend trip before he starts chemo? Maybe rent a boat for the day or take a little drive to see the fall colors. Just a little something in case the chemo makes him sick. I think a little quality dad/daughter time would be great. Please don't be offended by this, you know I care for you but I also know you are tight on money. If you need a little financial help to plan a little trip, we could all take up a collection to help you out. I'm sure we would all be more than happy to help out. You have been so wonderful to everyone here and its terrible to know you are hurting so. Love and hugs
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Well, I just got off the phone with him, and now he's thinking he might call Sloan for another opinion, just because. I told him to go for it. Honestly, though, he lives SO close to NY, in a very well-off area... I know these aren't true indicators of the quality of medical care, but I'm pretty confident that his doctors are good for what he needs. And you're right - it's almost funny that we can talk about "standard" cancer treatment as opposed to thinking it's all rare and untreatable, but his IS standard, even if his doctor calls it "incurative".
Thanks again. When it's so close to home, it's hard to keep it in perspective, that it isn't an automatic death sentence. I needed that.
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That made me smile... but it's not necessary at all. Thanks, though!
I just talked to him and said I'd be more than willing to come back down, but he told me not to. For now, he wants to play it by ear and see how the chemo goes. He's actually talking about coming up HERE again, maybe in a few weeks, when the fall colors are at their best here. He says he'd far rather aim for that than have me drive back down again, when I came back from there not even a week ago... but if things don't work out, he knows I'll go back down in a heartbeat.
Thankfully, I've spent a lot more time with him this past year than most of the previous ones... because he and my stepmom bought a house up here, they've been up a lot. I'm going to remember *that* as our together-time, because even though he hasn't started chemo yet, his doctors are forcing him to take it easy and not do things, so he's already not quite himself.
I'm babbling. Sorry about that. LOL
*hugs*
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