Master slacker
Something awesome.
All, this is a little personal story that I am now, happily, able to share. This is a more serious version of Capt's thread. Never miss the opportunity to tell your loved ones that you love them because it may just be the last time you do.
On Wednesday, 2/12, my dad notified us that he had brought mom to the ER Tuesday night because of severe abdominal pains. All the tests were done (x-ray, CT, blood, etc...) and the doctors noticed a spot on her pancreas. She was scheduled for an MRI on Thursday to get a better picture of what that spot was. Thursday came, she got the MRI, and we heard the results on Friday. The news helped confirm what we had feared - there was a 2 cm mass on her pancreas that was likely angiocarcinoma (pancreatic cancer). This is the same beast that took Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze. The five year survival rate is something like 20%. If not caught soon enough, death would be in months. I don't think I have ever been as crushed as I was when all of those test results came back and everything settled in.
One of the bitter aspects about this cancer is that there aren't any real signs you have it until it's too late. My mom's tumor caused her to experience pancreatitis. Treating her condition allowed the finding of this cancer. For the time being, it appears to have been caught "early" enough for treatment. Her oncologist told her on Friday it was operable and the Whipple procedure would be performed in the next month or two. Later on Friday, a different oncologist came in and painted a little darker picture - a more "realistic, this could happen" picture. My mom had worked in the hospital lab for years before my brothers and I came along so she knew exactly what could happen throughout the entire ordeal. This doctor pushed the operation timing and secured a surgical room for this morning. Talking to my mom last night and her breaking down stating that, if the tumor is impacting the artery nothing can be done, was hard. The doctor would then have to sew her up at that point and let us know how much longer she'd be with us.
This morning her surgery started at 7:40. Dad updated us at 11 that he had not been updated. 1:30 PM came and still nothing. At 2:32, my dad let us know that mom's procedure was complete and all went well. She is now in Recovery and will transfer to ICU in a few hours. I hadn't been this happy in a long time. Mom was / is fortunate beyond any word I can imagine. Had she not experienced pancreatitis, it would only be a matter of time before she went to the hospital with the feedback of "say your goodbyes".
I am hoping she is still with us in the coming years and, though this cancerous mass is gone, the cells will reappear and grow a new mass somewhere else at some point in time. I can't think about that now. So, before you come face to face with an unfortunate reality of life like I did, tell your loved ones how much you love them. It may just be the last time you can.
On Wednesday, 2/12, my dad notified us that he had brought mom to the ER Tuesday night because of severe abdominal pains. All the tests were done (x-ray, CT, blood, etc...) and the doctors noticed a spot on her pancreas. She was scheduled for an MRI on Thursday to get a better picture of what that spot was. Thursday came, she got the MRI, and we heard the results on Friday. The news helped confirm what we had feared - there was a 2 cm mass on her pancreas that was likely angiocarcinoma (pancreatic cancer). This is the same beast that took Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze. The five year survival rate is something like 20%. If not caught soon enough, death would be in months. I don't think I have ever been as crushed as I was when all of those test results came back and everything settled in.
One of the bitter aspects about this cancer is that there aren't any real signs you have it until it's too late. My mom's tumor caused her to experience pancreatitis. Treating her condition allowed the finding of this cancer. For the time being, it appears to have been caught "early" enough for treatment. Her oncologist told her on Friday it was operable and the Whipple procedure would be performed in the next month or two. Later on Friday, a different oncologist came in and painted a little darker picture - a more "realistic, this could happen" picture. My mom had worked in the hospital lab for years before my brothers and I came along so she knew exactly what could happen throughout the entire ordeal. This doctor pushed the operation timing and secured a surgical room for this morning. Talking to my mom last night and her breaking down stating that, if the tumor is impacting the artery nothing can be done, was hard. The doctor would then have to sew her up at that point and let us know how much longer she'd be with us.
This morning her surgery started at 7:40. Dad updated us at 11 that he had not been updated. 1:30 PM came and still nothing. At 2:32, my dad let us know that mom's procedure was complete and all went well. She is now in Recovery and will transfer to ICU in a few hours. I hadn't been this happy in a long time. Mom was / is fortunate beyond any word I can imagine. Had she not experienced pancreatitis, it would only be a matter of time before she went to the hospital with the feedback of "say your goodbyes".
I am hoping she is still with us in the coming years and, though this cancerous mass is gone, the cells will reappear and grow a new mass somewhere else at some point in time. I can't think about that now. So, before you come face to face with an unfortunate reality of life like I did, tell your loved ones how much you love them. It may just be the last time you can.
