Utah here I come...

Well, we got some info back on dad yesterday. I will attach the letter that my sweet brother sent out to close family so that you, our dear friends, can read it and know.... (AND, this is my journal of sorts...)

Brad and I are going to Utah today. We got tickets to the BYU/UCLA game a while back so we were going anyway. Our older kids are coming down from Rexburg too! Brad will leave and come back home on Sunday and I will stay.... not sure how long yet...

Thank you everyone for your sweet notes and prayers!!!
I love you,

Hello All,
We went to our appointment this afternoon with the oncologist. Dad was feeling pretty good and had more energy today than he has had since this ordeal began and he was looking better, not quite as yellow.

The report came back from the biopsy as positive as the carcinoma we had been talking about and his blood work showed it also as a positive, it was a blood work called a tumor marker which typically reads from 0-35, his was 440, which was off the charts showing a positive for this carcinoma.

The oncologist said that she still felt that from the tumors location that surgery was still not an option, however the oncologist had spoke to the surgeon that Dad has seen and he was consulting with another surgeon on the probability of surgery and they would contact us tomorrow if they felt that it was a possibility. The oncologist said even if it is a possibility, keep in mind that this is a very difficult surgery, difficult for the surgeon, and difficult for the patient. It would be very hard on Dad, and may not have a positive outcome.

Next the oncologist said that the tumor might respond to chemotherapy and radiation, the reaction would be a shrinking of the tumor to give Dad some relief and and possibly some longevity. It would comprise of daily radiation treatment, Monday - Friday, and chemotherapy every Monday. It would be heavy dosage of radiation, with light chemotherapy. It is a type of chemotherapy that is a dose that enhances the radiation. The radiation being the key to shrinking the tumor. She said the radiation could be difficult and make Dad pretty sick, and would be very hard on his liver, which is already struggling from the backed up bile. I asked how long of a period doing these therapy's and she said possibly up to seven weeks and they would reevaluate and see how the tumor was reacting.

The oncologist did order a PET scan for next Tuesday which is a total body scan, just to verify that there is no other traces any where else, so they know that they need to focus on this target area. Also the CT scan from last Thursday of his chest, showed that there was no spreading of this in his chest, so that is good thing!

Dad told the oncologist that he would like to get a second opinion, she supported him on that. There is another doctor have I been in contact with at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer center. I will call tomorrow to set this appointment up.

I think Dad is processing all this and trying to decide what he wants to do, I told him we would support him in any direction, that this is not the news we wanted but we will do all we can and all he wants to do.

He asked the oncologist what the prognosis is if he does the chemotherapy and radiation, she said the aggregate for patients with this carcinoma with this treatment is 18 months, he asked what if I don't do anything, she said maybe 3 months, but keep in mind all patients are different and everyone reacts differently.

We came home and he had a relaxing afternoon, Dad ate well, Mom cooked him a hamburger and he watched Fox news for awhile, and was getting ready to head to bed when I came home around 9:00.

Thank you all for your love support and prayers!

Love you all,
-D