Dennis is going to do another Esophagus endoscopy with a lot of biopsy done at the same time. They want to make sure that the 8 areas that showed up which includes several lymph nodes on the PET scan are all cancer. He has to be at MD Anderson at 8:30 AM and then the procedure will be at 11:30 and recovery at 12:30pm on Wed. Oct. 31st. Then he sees his oncologist on the 1st of Nov.
Hello friends I wanted to give you this update on Dennis as we went to see the radiation Dr. today to see if Dennis could start radiation. Well I guess I need to backup just a little. We went to a surgeon on the 22nd and to make it short the surgeon said Dennis was not able to have surgery because he has 8 different areas that has cancer in the esophagus. Some are masses and some are lymph nodes. Anyhow the surgery would have taken a min. of 6 hrs. and a 7 day stay in the hospital but since Dennis has so many areas it is not possible to have surgery.
Today we went to the radiation Dr. He told us that Dennis is not able to have radiation at this point because the cancer is in his lymph node in the upper part of his neck and it goes clear down to either the stomach or right outside the stomach area. He said that Dennis would have been to sick to have all of that area with radiation because depending on where they put the radiation would be a different symptom of illness and he could not handle that much illness at once. He said Dennis is in Stage 4 of the cancer.
So we are now waiting for the surgeon to do another endoscope on Dennis which they will be doing a lot of biopsy’s to make certain that the 8 spots are def. all 8 has cancer in them.
If they do then the next step is chemo. We are trying to stay positive and we are definitely keeping are faith. We know we have a long road ahead. So the next thing is the endoscope hopefully soon then see his reg oncologist on the 1st. Everyone has been so supportive and I thank you for all the prayers that you are saying on a daily bases. Today was Dennis birthday he turned 57. Happy Birthday my love.
Bad news: he is not a candidate for surgery as the PET scan showed 8 spots from his esophagus to his stomach. This surgery is extremely dangerous and he would be under the knives for many hours. I praise God for giving us the guidance for Doctors to say this is not good for dad. With his a-fib in his heart, God is telling us just be patient and know I (God) is healing the body. Why it is bad is because everyone likes to have more than just chemo/radiation options. The what ifs in life. The tumors range from a nickle to a tennis ball in size.
However, I look at the good news… the cancer has NOT spread passed a couple organs. It has not gone to the bone, liver, lungs, pancreas or brain – all places where there is little hope. Praise God for showing us the signs to take dad in to Dr. now and not months from now. The Doctors have told us that most of the time we never catch this early…. cause usually u feel great until after it has spread all throughout the body. It is still very serious but it has only spread to a couple places. I believe in my soul that the chemo/radiation is going to kick some cancer butt and we are going to stand proud to beat this horrible cancer. God said, have faith as little as a mustard seed and I shalt be with you. I believe that. I have seen how chemo has healed me and so many others. Yes, it is a poison but it is one that will make cancer run away.
He will be seeing the nutritionist and the radiation Dr within the new few days. he will also have another endoscope and a biopsy from MD Anderson. They want to biopsy all of the lymph nodes. Then chemo/radiation within the next week or so.
Went to MD Anderson yesterday, met Dennis Dr. She seems to be very knowledgeable and was very patient with all the questions that we had. They are going to do a test on him called a PET scan. It is similar to a reg CT but they will inject a sugar substance in him and this substance will go throughout his body and wherever their is activity (where there is cancer it will light up red.) of course certain areas like your brain etc. will light up because of the activity in it. They want to make sure that the 2 masses that Dennis has and the lymph nodes are the only place he has cancer. The Dr. did tell us that it is very strange that Dennis has Squamous Cells because he does not smoke and not around 2nd hand smoke on a reg. bases. Plus usually it is in the upper part of the esophagus and Dennis is in the middle and lower. Anyhow they will decide what to do next after the PET scan. I will give you further info when I have it. He is in no pain just having a hard time swallowing some times and coughs. Please keep us in your daily prayers.
Hello my friends and family, I need you to keep Dennis in your prayers. Please tell your friends to also say a prayer. Last Thursday we found out that Dennis has Esophagus Cancer. He has an appointment to go to MD Anderson tomorrow (Tues) This news as you can guess devastated our family. He has a long hull in front of him but with our faith and prayers we are hoping for a full recovery. Someone in the family will keep you informed of things that are going on. I am a strong believer in prayer and my faith in God will bring me and my family through this. But we need all of your prayers and your faith also. So please keep us in your prayers daily.