Day 197, Year 9: The Waiting Game
Date: Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Weather: More Sun than Clouds, Temp Near 60 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones in East Falmouth, Massachusetts
Since Mark found out in late October that his cancer was back, he has patiently gone through the various treatment regimens. And it was our hope that today we would find out that the tumor had been significantly diminished by the radiation treatments and that we would find out a date for surgery. But that was not to be. This is the true waiting game. What we did find out today was that the tumor has not diminished much in size but that it is not as dense as it was before radiation. Evidently that is a good thing. But we still don’t know if surgery is going to be possible. The surgeon is out of town and will return and meet with the oncologists on Thursday. After that team meeting, we will be contacted with the decision. If surgery is still a possibility we will proceed in that direction. If not, we will wait and see what happens to the tumor over the next two to three months. Evidently some tumors have a delayed reaction to the radiation treatments and some additional shrinkage could still happen. Or we could find that the radiation effectively killed the cancer cells. Or we could find that we have to wait longer to see what happens. Patience, patience. In addition, Dr. Kwak, Mark’s oncologist, reported findings of ‘something’ in the lungs. She didn’t tell us this at first, but asked a gazillion questions about how he was feeling. When he explained all that both of us have been going through with respiratory issues since last November, she said that the ‘something’ in the lungs is most probably related to that issue and is not cancer-related. But it is the ‘probably’ in that statement that is, of course, worrisome. Sooooooo . . . . . . my take on all this is three-pronged—work with the primary care physician here to do what is necessary to clear up the respiratory issues, start an aggressive exercise program (not sure what or when that might happen), and continue to work on having the healthiest diet possible. And then we wait and see. Oh, I forgot one important component—work on the patience thing!
When we returned to the Cape from Boston, we drove by Fiddler’s Cove to check on Windbird’s progress. And what a shock that was. Windbird was back in her slip with a newly painted bottom. We couldn’t believe the quick turn around, but I guess that is what can happen when a professional team is doing the work instead of just the two of us.
