Real Fiero Tech

Just stopped in and saw this. I'm very sorry for your loss Will.

Thanks.

My prayers are with you and your family.

Having had Cancer myself, I can tell you Chemo and Radiation are no fun. Be glad that your mom didn't have to suffer through too much of it. She is in a better place now, and no longer in pain.

I recently had a great Uncle that just died from Cancer. He had stage IV kidney cancer for nearly eight years after being diagnosed in December of 2004. They had him on so many experimental medications and treatments it wasn't funny. While they did prolong his life, it was a brutal roller coaster for him (both mentally and physically).

-ryan

Thank you.

My dad had been having odd health problems related to fatigue and just "not feeling right" for the last 2-3 years.

In March he had an episode of intense pain approximately at the secum (joint between large and small intestine). He'd had his appendix out about 7 years ago and this was right in the same location. Docs gave him broad spectrum anti-biotics, which seemed to clear it up. However, he insisted they investigate further. The doc did a colonoscopy and found a tumor at that location. At the end of April he had surgery to remove that section of the large intestine. Due to the blood supply, circulation patterns and mesentery encapsulating the neighboring lymph nodes, the surgeon took about 12" of intestine. This is a standard colon resection.

The biopsy showed the tumor was stage II and graded as poorly differentiated. Of 26 lymph nodes in the section, 5 held cancerous cells.
He had a port for chemo-therapy installed Tuesday and gets his first dose of chemo next Monday.

The chemo course will be 12 doses every 2 weeks, totaling 6 months. There will be additional monitoring via CT scans and colonoscopies beyond the 6 month chemo course.

3-5 year stats show about 1/3 chance of having another tumor in that time.

And now I have a family history of cancer on both sides.

I'm sorry to hear that Will. I hope your family remains strong through this and that your dad makes a quick recovery. My best wishes to all of you.

It's been building slowly since he had to be essentially immobile for 5 days following he surgery, but my dad's been having odd pains around his upper torso. No classic chest pain or tightness... more like dull aches or an occasional "stitch" in his side. Over the weekend he was very short of breath. We went in for his 2nd chemo treatment on Tuesday. He told the doc these things and she sent him to a CT scan right away instead of chemo. They found an "impressively large" saddle embolus in his pulmonary artery. It is reducing blood flow to his lungs, but not blocking it. They immediately put him on blood thinners and kept him in the ICU overnight for observation. Because he was hemodynamically stable, they didn't use a clot buster medication. The blood thinner prevents additional clot from forming. While clot formation is inhibited, his body will be able to dissolve the clot over the next few weeks. He's very lucky the clot stayed where it is, as it could easily have broken up and occluded the blood flow to one or both lungs. That's a pulmonary embolism and could have been almost immediately fatal.

As this is the second time he's had a clot spontaneously form like this, he's going to be on blood thinners for the rest of his life.

My uncle died of Mesothelioma Friday 8/8

He was a PhD physicist and had worked at the Naval Research Lab for over 30 years.

The asbestos exposure which resulted in his cancer is from when he was a TEENAGER, over 50 years ago, working construction and finishing drywall mud which contained asbestos for abrasion resistance.