Dad continues to fight his Esophageal Cancer. He's doing fabulous. Actually, quite amazing for someone that was diagnosed with Stage IV Esophageal Cancer nearly a year ago. Dad's most recent Pet scan shows no indication of any Cancer left in any of his lymph nodes. There is also no sign of Cancer in his liver. At one time, they were questioning a spot on his liver. This spot has now been dismissed. In fact, the source cancer spot in his lower esophagus/upper stomach is no longer showing on the Pet scan. This is truly amazing.
So, where are we? They are seeing one small spot in the middle of his esophagus at this time. This is a new spot that wasn't noticed before, but it is the only spot showing on the Pet scan at this time. His recent blood work showed an increase in his Cancer marker (CA 19-9). It went from 63-232. This is likely related to the new spot they are seeing. The doctor thinks that this spot is resistant to the current treatment, so he's going to change things up to surprise attack the last of this unwanted visitor. Dad will do his new chemo treatment once every 3 weeks until this spot no longer shows on the Pet scan. This new chemo treatment is in the same family as the last treatment - just slightly different, and a heavier dose. They will watch his Kidney closely since it has started showing signs of damage due to the chemo treatments. They have to watch his Kidney function closely because he only has one Kidney and it is very easy to get dehydrated with one Kidney. His new chemo comes with the usual Diarrhea side effect. This should only last a couple of days, so hopefully he'll be able to handle it. He should have a nice break in between treatments.
Dad continues to work as much as possible. He's determined to retire with full benefits. He's maintaining a very positive attitude and continues to want to fight this disease. He is pretty confident that he will be the odds. With God's grace, he will beat the odds!
Much Love,
Shanon
