Good news, everyone!

Dan woke up Maggie yesterday morning with a surprise text:

YAY!

This means while inside Dan, the doc's also extracted a couple lymph nodes. This type of cancer commonly spreads using the lymphatic system. We weren't sure yet if it had begun to metastasize like that or not. Thankfully, it doesn't look like it. Right now, it looks like we've got the best possible outcome of all this, and despite discovering the cancer pretty late, it hasn't spread! Dan could possibly be cancer free!

Of course, scans in the near future will determine if this is so or not. And even if Dan is currently cancer free, we'll always have to be wary of it returning in the future, as it unfortunately often does in many cancer patients. We have good access to good doctors though, who will keep us on a tight scanning and testing timeline, so we'll always be checking to make sure.

Today Dan is having the chest drain and a few different tubes still left removed. He'll be down to just an IV for the blood thinner heparin. And hopefully in a few days we can start talking about when he can come home!

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2023 Update

... There hadn't been an update back in December, so here it is now: surgery for the tumor in Dan's spine was delayed/cancelled the day before it was to happen, by choice. The tumor is not growing, nor is it shrinking. It is considered stable, due to the increase in dosage of medicine that Dan is taking. Since it is stable, the surgeon doesn't want to do surgery yet. The hope it that it will start to shrink. So attention turned to dealing with the pain the tumor was causing. Today, Dan received a nerve-blocker shot, steroid based, in the nerve that is being affected by the tumor. Within a few days it should begin helping with the pain. We hope to see him sleeping better, and up and moving a little better. He'll likely still limp and need the cane to get around, but if the pain is mitigated a bit, then we'll be happy.

Surgery and Sunitinib and fun with s's

Amid all the fun headlines happening out there, we thought we should update you good folks with what we do know. Dan's tumor and clot are pretty much unresponsive to the chemotherapy medication Sunitinib. The doctors can see no shrinkage. The veins where the tumor is most prevalent are considered completely occluded - which means blocked. Periphery veins are taking over the job of supplying blood where it needs to go. Which is why he's still walking and breathing, but also why he's suffering very painful leg spasms almost every morning, and why his potassium levels are too high. Surgery is expected to take early November. This surgery will be done by a vascular surgeon at RCH, and will be nearly as major as his first. The point of this surgery will be "debulking." The doctor will go in and attempt to remove what he can of the tumor and clot. But since it is obvious he will not be getting 100% of the tumor, it's considered "debulking" since he...

Spinal Surgery

...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...

Dumo Cell Carcinoma

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