I know this isn’t a big announcement because I’ve mentioned it already here on the blog, but I thought it deserved its own post here.
This is kind of tricky topic to navigate, because it’s not my story to tell, or my details to share. But I am the secondary support person (after my Mom- the primary support person) and will be quite involved in this fight, even if it’s just because proximity-wise, I’m the best they’ve got 🙂 I have a great relationship with my parents and we have grown even closer as we have lived close to each other these past few years. So this diagnosis doesn’t feel “removed” at all, in fact, it feels like a direct hit- a sucker punch.
I know I’ve alluded to a really hard season that we have been walking, and it kind of started with breaking my elbow and my Dad finding cancer on the same weekend.
My Dad has already had prostate cancer a year or so ago, and he battled through that with a surgery and radiation. It wasn’t a fun time, but prognosis was great and he has been in remission from that for a year or so. He’s always been very fit and healthy. He is 67 this year (which was great, because siiiiiiix seeeeeeven was in its heyday)
In April of this year, he felt like he had gotten something stuck up in his tooth/gum area and it was really bothering him for days. He finally went to a dentist who sent him to an oral surgeon, who said that the area looked quite bothered and gave him a round of antibiotics. After taking the entire round of antibiotics, it didn’t improve at all, and in fact he felt like it was getting much worse. He also had a high fever for a few days and some major swelling even visible on the outside in his cheek area. We finally all agreed that he needed to go into the ER to be seen and to make sure that it wasn’t infected and turning into sepsis or something wild like that.
Well, the ER doctor looked at him and said that he was pretty sure that we were looking at a malignant (cancerous) growth. This was on Monday, April 6th- the day after Easter and 4 days after I broke my elbow. A biopsy was taken, and my Dad scheduled an appointment with his oncologist. Unfortunately, his oncologist had a family emergency and wasn’t able to see him right away.
We got the news a few days later that it was indeed cancer, but they hadn’t been able to determine yet what kind of cancer it was. He got in to see his oncologist, who was completely stumped (she’s fantastic, but as you will soon learn, this was beyond her scope/experience). They sent the biopsy off to Cleveland Clinic and we continued to wait.
Meanwhile, the growth in his mouth grew rapidly. It got to the point that he could barely talk, he couldn’t chew at all, and when he laid down, it was starting to impede breathing. Keep in mind this growth first appeared maybe 4 weeks earlier…so it was growing FAST.
He met with an ENT who evaluated it and said he needed surgery ASAP- within the next two days. It was scheduled for the next day, as a standby surgery, so we had to wait until they called him to see if there was an opening for surgery. He had to fast from food and water for the whole day because he wasn’t sure he would be called in or not. Anyways- he got the surgery and had the mass removed, which brought a great deal of relief! Of course, removing the growth didn’t mean the cancer would be gone, just that he could finally eat, talk and breathe properly again!
It took a bit to recover from that surgery, and meanwhile we were still waiting for the actual biopsy results. It took SO LONG. And now we know why.
My Dad was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive sarcoma cancer. Sarcoma cancers are only diagnosed in 1% of adult cancer cases. The unique thing about his case, too, is that it is in his jaw. The oncologists have literally never seen a sarcoma case in the jaw- so they don’t even have a prognosis for him, because they haven’t seen this before.
Once we finally had a diagnosis, things started to move a little bit quicker, and an action plan has been laid out. He has a projected nine or ten month treatment plan- chemo, followed by immunotherapy, then radiation, and then a very intensive surgery. He will receive his chemo here in the Dayton area, but the radiation and surgery will be at the James Cancer Center in Columbus (which, praise the Lord- is one of the top cancer centers in the nation). Of course, he will be under pretty stringent observation as the doctors want to watch what this cancer does and how it responds to the treatment. We know that the plan could change. We don’t know the future or the outcome of this. But we do know the one who hold us through all the trials and tribulations of life.
The day before my Dad started his chemo treatment, we decided to have a hymn/praise/prayer time and they invited friends and family to come to their house and sing together. It was a BEAUTIFUL time together and I know that it blessed me! We sang so many of my Dad’s favorite hymns, and he played both the piano and guitar to lead us all in worship. We prayed over my Dad, over my Mom, and over the doctors and nurses and everyone who will come into contact with my parents throughout this journey.
The next day we got up early and headed to the hospital for chemo round 1- a LONG 8 hour day. They told us it won’t usually be this long, but the first time takes forever because they have to explain everything and make sure that he doesn’t have any reactions to anything. I was there with them for a few hours (squooshed into that booth with my Mom) but had to get home to relieve the babysitter. It was a hard day, not going to lie. Our spirits were high while we were there, but by the time I got home, my emotions had crashed pretty fiercely.
This is a tough time, I’m not going to lie about that. It’s a trial.
BUT GOD.
The joy of the Lord is our strength. We take it one day at a time, because His mercies are new every morning.
This post is already getting really long, so I’ll end it here. I do have a lot more to say and have learned SO MUCH during this time- how to be a good support person, what a chemo day is really like, what else we have coming on this journey.
For now, I will end with the words to this song that we sang at our little hymn sing party:
When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast
He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Those He saves are His delight
Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He’ll not let my soul be lost
His promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast
For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When he comes at last