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Well, the treatment has begun and were on the way to getting to the point where the surgeon can yank that cancer out of there. We've decided if the doctor won't take it out, I'm going to give it a try. Couldn't be any different than skinning a buck, right? Anyway, we went to Cape yesterday morning. They started by having dad come back to a room that had 8 or 10 chairs positioned in a semicircle where other cancer patients were receiving chemo. I went back with dad to get a better understanding of how things worked. The chairs were pretty comfortable, sunlight was coming in the room, and they had a TV in the corner. The other patients were going through the same thing as dad but they all were at various levels in their treatment plan, with different symptoms, and cancers. At first I didn't like the idea of dad being in there with other patients, I thought it would be better to have a little privacy when going through chemo, but after 2 minutes of being back there I realized I was wrong, dad had already struck up a conversation with the guy next to him. It was good for dad to be back there with other patients experiencing the same thing he was. Dad started his treatment with blood tests, followed by steroids, nausea medicine, and chemo all administered through an IV. The whole thing took about three hours. Once they started the treatment I left the room because the chairs were starting to fill up, seems like a lot of people are getting cancer these days. Mom and I took turns going back to check on him. Every time I went back he was in good spirits, talking to folks around him. I was kinda surprised to see he was eating when I went back around noon, actually I wasn't, but he tackled that grilled chicken salad. He said it was pretty good. There were people in the waiting room that had family members getting chemo. Mom and I spent most of our time talking to them. That was comforting for us. It's good to talk about things, especially with people that are going through the same stuff. Dad walked out of the room shortly before 1. Dad made it through the first treatment just fine. He'll take a pill (Tarceva) every day around 2:00 that's a targeted therapy that may slow the growth of the tumor. He can't eat 2 hours before or after taking the pill. (Not even ice cream, dad!!!). His next treatment will be next Tuesday. I really appreciate all the support we are receiving from family and friends. I know it means a lot to dad as well. Thanks for the comments on the blog. Dad reads them. Oh yeah, thanks for all the food. It's greatly appreciated.
P.S. One person that seems to get overlooked in a lot of the blogs is mom! Mom, you've got to be the stongest person on earth, Love you!
"Keep on Keepin On"
Later
