Dumo Cell Carcinoma

...play it again, Sam. On Saturday, Maggie turned 40 and Ayla turned 9. On Wednesday, Elyse makes a gingerbread house at school and on Thursday, Ayla does. Friday is crazy hair day! And also on Friday, Dan will have spinal surgery to de-bulk the tumor that has grown in his lower vertebrae.  Can you guess who's not feeling the spirit of the season? Debilitating pain aside ... I have no witty follow up to that. Dan's been in pain for several months, and being Dan, is working through it. Hopefully the surgery will help, but like all the others, it's not an answer to his cancer.  Dan will be in hospital for a few days before returning home, where he's expected to have a 12 to 16 week recuperation. Reach out and say hello, send your thoughts and love, and I do believe someone mentioned puppies? The girls want a kitty. I'm partial to gold fish. Thanks for all your support, friends and family, especially my mom Terri who is here as emotional and kid support and as primo tr...

 ...and insert witty Opening Sentence. Two plus years later, and we're back. Dan's cancer has metastasized to the lower part of his spine, in the fifth lumbar. "I'm back ... back again ..." It's not very big, it has both grown and shrunk since it was first noticed in Feb 2021. And although Dan only learned about it last month, they are moving quickly now. Sometime this April, after a few prep scans and his first tattoo, Dan will receive focalized radiation. therapy. Because it's small, he'll see only one to three sessions, and in only the one small area. Five years ago kidney cancer didn't react to radiation therapy, but already there have been medical improvements and the doctors are optimistic that he'll see positive change. Dan is Dan, so he's heading off to work this week seven hours away. Drop a line, and ask to see his new tattoo.

... ....the new normal. Turns out I didn't update this when Dan left the hospital last year (one year tomorrow). And not since. My apologies - kept meaning to, but ... Since Dan left the hospital after surgery number two, he has: [] recuperated at home with Netflix and Witcher III [] turned 40! with a surprise birthday party at a Musical Comedy show (he wasn't THAT surprised because I'm really terrible at that) [] had his blood taken 13 times [] had at least twelve different scans/ultrasounds and met with the doctors almost as much [] returned to work after only 8 weeks [] work near continuously the rest of the year [] have a mini vacation in Victoria with JUST me at the Empress Hotel! [] do a small family vacation at Wolf Lodge in WA, showing off for the first time his zipper scar [] work on a boat! [] squeeze in a short film [] see some musical theater and learn the girls are die-hard ABBA fans [] READ A BOOK [] gain TWO new nieces! [] see a few of ...

Blank space to confuse the masses. Dan has been in the hospital six days, but it feels like six weeks to his family. The surgery on Jan 2 took six hours. The vascular surgeon came out of the surgery optimistic. He got a rather good portion of the clot from the most occluded areas in his abdomen and groin, and samples were sent to the labs to determine if there was cancer cells present. The doctor did not mess with the renal vein and the clot present there. This means Dan's kidney didn't take a hit, and Dan will not need dialysis while in the hospital. The IVC is nearly completely closed due to scar tissue from the surgery last year and is most likely the main culprit behind the clot. Edit: the lab for the clot in the iliac vein was positive for metastatic clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. We have a lot of questions regarding the remaining kidney and its bad vein, regarding the IVC and its periphery veins and future issues it may cause, and regarding Dan's future ...

Dan has some good news for the New Year... Surgery! The date for surgery is--SURPRISE--three days away! Wednesday, Jan 2, Dan goes in for the exploratory look by Kezemi to get what they can of the tumor. It'll be an incision from belly button up, but no breaking of ribs this time, and a secondary incision near his left thigh near the pelvis. There's a few different problem areas the vascular surgeon will be focused on. He'll also work at not compromising the remaining kidney of Dan's, although he must take a look at it due to the appearance of tumor or clot in the vein there. What we don't want is further clot complications, which kept Dan in the hospital over a month last time. We also don't want his remaining kidney to take too much of a hit. The sixty pound weight gain in hospital (gone by the time he left) wasn't fun. Dan will be out of commission up to another three months after the surgery, at home recovering with Red Dead 3. Or Witcher? Wh...

Enough vague booking, here's the details. Dan's surgery tomorrow is postponed, until at least January 2019. Dan will have to be fully healed and back on blood thinners and stable before the vascular surgeon will want to go ahead with the surgery.  He'll be home Friday, hopefully, and his only job for the next two months is to recuperate in peace and quiet (if Maggie has any say in the matter). Hematoma's take 1-4 weeks to heal, and he's likely on the longer end due to the severity of his. He's currently unable to stand or walk for any length of time. Hematoma's need rest, elevation, icing and compression to heal, so we'll be busy with Netflix and chill with feet raised. This is unfortunate news, and despite this complication and the forewarning of a likely postponing, we weren't ready for a delayed surgery date so far in the future. It means both Maggie and Dan are off of work for longer than planned, creating a bit more stress in the ...