Jeff and I got back from Houston yesterday. My mom was also with us. It was 3 days of scans and a lung biopsy and finally results yesterday when we saw the dr. We were completely heartbroken to learn that his biopsy confirmed melanoma. From these tests they feel sure the disease has spread to his lungs, liver and two lymph nodes in his neck. He will start aggressive chemo immediately.
But we have two bits of good news that we are holding tight to.
1. His cancer is growing VERY slowing. They ususally see metastized melanoma spread and grow very quickly. His spots are still very small and only grew a couple of milimeters. In fact they said everything is so small that he shouldn't have any symptoms of the disease yet - he still feels really good!
2. The best news of all is that it looks like he will be able to receive his chemo in Amarillo. Dr. Hwu (MDA) called Dr. Patel in Amarillo and he said the kind of chemo Jeff needs to be on can be administered here in Amarillo. That is such a relief!! It is very hard to been in Houston by ourselves.(and scary) I can't help but smile when I think of Jeff getting to have regular love and support from friends and family here. The biggest gift is to NOT have to leave our children! That is agonizing and we hope this is better on our entire family. Jeff will have to be in the hospital for 5 straight days to receive his chemo and then he will have two weeks to recover and then repeat the cycle. The chemo is so strong he can only have 6 cycles. In fact it's so strong he has to have lung and heart tests to make sure his body can withstand the treatment. (Hoping that is a good report)
We did ask "the question"! It's like you want an answer but at the same time once you hear it you can never take it back. Is there a cure for Jeff at this point in his disease? The doctor said yes but only a 10% chance. She told us a story of a man that presented very similar to Jeff with mucosal melanoma that had spread. He responded so well to the chemo he has been disease free for over 2 years. There is a 50% chance he will have a response to the chemo. That means we should see the tumors shrink and become smaller. And if he doesn't respond to the chemo she said it should at least slow the growth of the tumors and they will try another kind of chemo.
So...... needless to say we are sad! I'm sure we'll get a handle on our emotions in a day or two. It just takes a minute to sink in. I've spent all day in my bed with the kids watching Toy Story 3 and Yogi Bear. All that snuggling helped! Jeff went right back to work this morning with Luke. They heal better on a horse! Me in a bed!
We see Dr. Patel on Wednesday. I will let you all know a game plan after we hear it from him. We are praying for a miracle! We want him to be totally cured!!!! We are praying that Jeff is so strong and healthy that his body can fight this cancer with the chemo. We calmed ourselves knowing that we have a strong foundation. We have faith. We know God loves us and He knows the desires of our hearts. We want Jeff here!!! We have also let it all go to God's hands and said Thy will be done. Thanks for all the love and support. We are blessed. Everything important in life we have been blessed with. It didn't take cancer for us to know that!
Love to you all,
Leta and Jeff
No comments:
Post a Comment