Testing Day

Our day began bright and early at 7:00 a.m. when we showed up for E.'s first appointment, only to be immediately greeted by some confusion. E. couldn't even so much as check-in, as we were told his account had been "put on hold" because there had been no insurance approval for this latest round of tests. We were told to have a seat while they tried to work things out. After an hour, the apologetic front desk clerk informed us that he couldn't reach anyone at the business office and suggested we walk over ourselves. We made the long trek to the business office, where we were informed of exactly the same thing: we did not have insurance approval. Apparently, E.'s insurance was denying further testing in Texas, claiming that testing could be done locally instead. Even though it was now 8:30 a.m. in Texas, it was only 6:30 a.m. in Nevada, which meant that the insurance folks were probably still snoozing and most certainly not in the office yet. A variety of people left messages stating our claim to the insurance company; the business folks, the testing folks, the doctor's representatives and of course, E. himself.

Surprisingly, at 8:13 a.m. Nevada time, the helpful gentleman at the MD Anderson business office called us back ... we had insurance approval! We headed back over to Nuclear Medicine to begin the PET/CT process. Unfortunately, the entire schedule was thrown off due to the delay, but we were thankful they were still willing to squeeze us in where they could. We were at their mercy though and settled in for the long wait. It was 11:35 a.m. Texas time when E. began his first appointment of the day (originally scheduled for 7:00 a.m.). From here on out, it was surprisingly smooth sailing. The PET/CT, followed by labs, and then the MRI. Even with the unexpected morning delay, we were still done before 5:00 p.m. Woohoo!

We had one more kink thrown in our plans as well. Dr. A., the medical oncologist, was called out of the office and wanted to reschedule our appointment to next week. Since that's not really a feasible option for us, we'll have to settle for a phone consultation. When, we don't know. We're hopeful we can still get the PET/CT results from someone tomorrow, because I might just be a crazy (crazier?) lady if we have to wait indefinitely.

You'd think this scanning/testing/waiting for results process would get easier. Physically, it does. We have that part down to a science. Emotionally, it doesn't. It simply doesn't.

Peanut and Dad

Peanut loves to ride on dad's shoulders.

And pull his hair.

And tug on his ears.

And yank off his glasses.

It's a barrel of laughs.

For everyone but dad.

(P.S. Like how it looks like Peanut has a big part in his hair?

That's really just where he cut that chunk out!)

Grandpa Update

Grandpa had his post-op appointment with the surgeon and is healing up nicely. He is still sore, but that is to be expected and will take time until he's back to normal.

Grandpa also had his consultation with the oncologist. Our research proved correct. Grandpa's cancer was Stage 2 and surgery is the only recommended treatment. No radiation or chemotherapy is recommended at this point. He'll follow-up with scans every three months for a bit and then every six months. He'll also get a follow-up colonoscopy in a year. Hopefully everything will remain disease free.

On the E. front, he's scheduled for his scans on December 14th in Texas and the subsequent doctor appointments on the 15th. All prayers, thoughts and positive mojo welcomed.

Grandpa's Discharged

Grandpa finally got discharged today. He'll spend a few days with us recuperating but only because we have football on tv. (Seriously. That's what he told us.) He's determined to drive the two hours home, even though the doctor said he needs to stay with us for a couple of weeks. We'll continue to work on him and see if we can't talk some sense into him.

He had a few rough days in the hospital, throwing up and passing blood. He did require a blood transfusion, but so far hasn't needed another. They were able to remove all his drainage tubes and staples before he was discharged, so that was one less thing to worry about.

We were able to get the pathology report back yesterday. The tumor was a bit worse than anticipated, coming in at a T3. On a good note though, all of the lymph nodes tested negative, so it's a N0 and with no metastasis, it's a Mx. All combined, the T3 N0 Mx translates to a Stage 2. After his post-operative appointment with the surgeon in a couple of weeks, he'll meet with an oncologist to discuss any further treatment. From what we've researched though, it doesn't appear that chemotherapy or radiation is part of treatment for a Stage 2 colon cancer patient. It seems like surgery generally does the trick. Hopefully that's the case because grandpa has already made it clear that he's not doing "none of that other crap."

He's pretty sore, moving cautiously and slowly transitioning back to solid foods. It's going to take some time for his body to heal, but he seems like he's on the right track.

Grandpa's Surgery

Grandpa's surgery started over three hours late, but once it started, it was surprisingly quick. It took less than an hour to complete. They were able to do it laparoscopically, which should make healing quicker and easier. There is no colostomy bag at this point, although there is a slight outside chance (like 1%) that a bag could still be needed at some point in the healing process. The surgeon still couldn't tell us much about the stage of the cancer and said we'd have more definitive answers once the pathology came back (the actual tumor and several surrounding lymph nodes were sent to pathology). It is anticipated that the pathology results should be back about the time grandpa is ready to be discharged from the hospital ... at the end of this week, or the beginning of next according to the surgeon. Hopefully Grandpa will be able to transition to solid foods and be able to slowly start getting up and around a bit. Now if his blood sugar levels would cooperate, that would just be a bonus. Given all the possible scenarios, it sounds like things have really gone well so far.

Grandpa

E.'s dad, E1, visited with the GI doctor last week to address some suspected long-term side effects from last year's prostrate cancer and subsequent treatment. Turns out, it wasn't side effects from the prostrate cancer at all. It it an entirely new and ugly cancer beast ... colon cancer.

Just when we think we have a little cancer education under our belts, a new form of cancer is tossed our way and we have to start over. With colon cancer, staging doesn't happen until after a CT scan and after surgery. The CT scan was completed a couple of days ago, but it didn't seem to offer up much new information other than confirm that grandpa does in fact have colon cancer. A consultation with the surgeon left us with more questions than answers. There are just so many variables in this situation. We really won't know much until after surgery, which is scheduled for Monday.

Surgery could be laparoscopic. Unless it requires open surgery. His hospital stay could be one to three days. Or it could be two weeks. He may heal nicely. Or he could have complications due to his diabetes. He might be able to transition to solid foods over a period of days. Or he may require IV nutrition because of his current low weight. He could return to our home to after discharge to recuperate without any extra intervention. Or he may have to return to the wound clinic for daily wound care. He may have nothing but incisions (staples and/or sutures) to take care of. Or he could have a colostomy bag. It's all a bunch of "what if's."

So, we do what we do best ... we roll.

Haircut Appts

Peanut is now in the business of cutting hair.

If you'd like yours done before he's too famous, please call now.

Appointments are filling up fast.