This morning Dad had his "exploratory" surgery and tissue biopsy. We had hoped to find that things were fairly under developed and that was not the case. The doctor said that the cancer was along the entire leangth of the left lung, and on the left side of the diaphram. At this point however, they are unsure as to the actual sub type of cancer it is. They said that there is a chance that it is a carsonoma tumor, and not mesothelioma. The doctor said that there are different sub types to each cancer, and each one is treated by a different cocktail of chemotherapy. The tissue biopsy will tell us more. We should have the pathology results by Thursday or Friday.
Dad is doing good tonight.. He has a chest tube draining fluid from his lung. That is a normal procedure after a surgery like his. As soon as he gets that tube out, we can take him home. The plan is, reguardless of the pathology report, to start a chemo-therapy regimin as soon as he is able, and proceed as if surgery will be an option. The closest cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in surgeries like this is in Boston, Massachusetts. The doctors feel that sending him to Boston is the best option for surgery. We will know more about the possibilites of surgery later on.
For now, I am having a hard time holding on to the reality of all of this. As I am sitting here typing, my head keeps telling me that this is all a dream, and that some how in my week of sleepless nights, I have managed to dream all of this. Please keep dad in you prayers, thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and well wishes!
We will be setting up an account in dads name, where donations can be made. I will keep you posted as to the details of that.
I am so sorry. We love Brother Hathaway, my daughter Brittney was in his primary class for two years and LOVED them! Our prayers are with you and your family as you go through this hard time.
ReplyDeleteHeather Judy LaFever