I alluded to multiple trials
throughout the month of March. One of the biggest trials was my Dad’s
Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis. It all started when he was on his mission trip to Peru
with my brother. He ended up getting sick the entire trip… and of course didn’t
want to go to get checked out but since my brother felt better after getting
antibiotics at the hospital he decided to go in too. He didn’t think he would
make it home with how bad he was feeling.
He went into the hospital in Peru on February
24th and they did a couple studies which included an X-ray. They
noticed something on the x-ray and diagnosed him with diverticulitis and told
him to continue getting treatment when he got back home to Texas. Antibiotics
were enough to help him feel better and fly home the next day. Of course, we
were all nervous for him to fly home… Jimmy especially started doing research
on “what ifs” but he was determined to come home.
Once in Texas he went in for a CT scan
on February 27, which came back showing something on his pancreas. They wanted him
to return immediately for an MRI to get a better idea of what they were dealing
with. All we knew is that it was between the size of a walnut and golf ball and
could be a blood clot, cancer, or something else… of course, I immediately
started asking people to pray as pancreatic cancer does no have good outcomes.
He was able to get back in for an MRI
the following day, but we had to wait over the weekend to find out the results.
On Monday, March 3rd, we were informed that indeed he did have a
pancreatic tumor. While usually that means cancer there was still a slim
possibility it was benign, so they wanted to set him up with a cancer doctor.
The cancer doctor’s office called that
day, and he had an appointment for 3:00 pm. They had a really good experience
with the cancer doctor and felt comfortable moving forward. The next step was to get a biopsy which was
scheduled for the following Monday. In the meantime, the doctor was going to do
some research on the type of tumor my father had and the best type of treatment
for it.
When they did the biopsy on March 10th,
we found out that the tumor appeared to be outside the pancreas. While we would
not know the official results for 5-7 days it looked like it was a neuro
endocrine tumor which is what the cancer doctor also suspected.
The biopsy results came back on Friday
March 14th and confirmed that it was a neuroendocrine tumor. Thankfully, this type of tumor is usually
removed surgically with no need for chemo. They generally have a good prognosis
especially since it was caught so early.
Of course, they wanted to do a Dotatate pet scan to make sure there were
no more tumors.
The dotatate pet scan was scheduled
for March 19th, the following Wednesday. The results came back showing
there were no other tumors, and all the lymph nodes were clean. The cancer had
not spread! Praise Jesus!!!
He had his follow-up appointment with the
surgeon moved up to March 25th, where they decided to schedule
surgery for the following week. They were not messing around in Texas. The
process went so smoothly and quickly. It is crazy to think that the official
diagnosis came in on March 3rd and on April 3rd, he was
having surgery to have the tumor removed. They also removed the spleen just in
case, which is good because there were signs of it spreading into the splenic vein.
Of course, my Dad was a trooper. He spent a few days in the hospital recovering but the day that he was released he was back at my sister’s house playing a couple games of pool with Keb. It is amazing how doing what you love can help you recover quicker. We were all relieved that the cancer was out of his body and he could now heal and get back to normal.
I have no doubts that God’s hand was with
us in this whole situation. From my Dad getting sick in Peru and going to the
hospital (which he NEvER does) which allowed for an early diagnosis… to a super
quick and smooth process. As nerve-wracking as the entire process was… my faith
did not waiver.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing this, Kristin! <3 DLeyde
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