bgrone
Member
As previously posted, my wife has pancreatic cancer. As I write this we are in a hotel in Rochester Mn., today and tomorrow she has appointments at Mayo to determine the viability of surgery to excise the tumor. First I want to thank all who have offered prayers and support in this difficult time, your kindness is appreciated so much. It has been almost six months since the tumor was discovered in a routine scan to monitor for recurrence of breast cancer. Since then she has undergone 7 rounds of very intensive chemo, the last of which she had a reaction to and went into shock, they administered steroids and let me tell you if you think a NFL player on 'riods is fearsome wait till you encounter a 140 lb. grandmother!
We have seen a lot of positive signs as the treatment has progressed; her blood sugar has dropped into normal range from the early highs in the 3-400s; her ca19.9 has dropped 40%; there is no discomfort in her abdomen and no signs of spread to other organs. Now if the surgeons like what they see they will begin radiation with chemo to "sterilize" the area and schedule surgery to remove roughly 2/3 of her pancreas, the end result would be daily insulin for life, a small inconvenience considering all else.
It is below zero here in Rochester this morning, but we feel warm and snug ,comforted by our faith and the faith of an untold number of people both on this forum and other social media. For those of you who have never been to Mayo; most of downtown is connected by an elaborate network of underground walkways carpeted and brightly lit, quite unlike the catacombs of Rome. We can access virtually anything we need without stepping outside, the hospital buildings, shopping, bookstores, dining etc.
I will update results as they become known to us, albeit more briefly than tis rambling post (our first appointment today is at 1 pm but I couldn't sleep. I feel like both a kid on Christmas morning and a guy on trial for murder.
In all of this I have been praying also for other members of this forum who have expressed a need for heavenly sustenance. I firmly believe if you wish good things for yourself you should pray for good things for others first. Karma if you will.
We have seen a lot of positive signs as the treatment has progressed; her blood sugar has dropped into normal range from the early highs in the 3-400s; her ca19.9 has dropped 40%; there is no discomfort in her abdomen and no signs of spread to other organs. Now if the surgeons like what they see they will begin radiation with chemo to "sterilize" the area and schedule surgery to remove roughly 2/3 of her pancreas, the end result would be daily insulin for life, a small inconvenience considering all else.
It is below zero here in Rochester this morning, but we feel warm and snug ,comforted by our faith and the faith of an untold number of people both on this forum and other social media. For those of you who have never been to Mayo; most of downtown is connected by an elaborate network of underground walkways carpeted and brightly lit, quite unlike the catacombs of Rome. We can access virtually anything we need without stepping outside, the hospital buildings, shopping, bookstores, dining etc.
I will update results as they become known to us, albeit more briefly than tis rambling post (our first appointment today is at 1 pm but I couldn't sleep. I feel like both a kid on Christmas morning and a guy on trial for murder.
In all of this I have been praying also for other members of this forum who have expressed a need for heavenly sustenance. I firmly believe if you wish good things for yourself you should pray for good things for others first. Karma if you will.
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