Day 246, Year 9: Hallelujah
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Weather: Sunny with a High Temp in the low 80’s F
Location: At Home with Bruce and Jane Woodin, Falmouth, MA
We’ve had a couple of days in the past week when I just wanted to shout ‘hallelujah’ in response to Mark’s improvement. But today was the ultimate ‘hallelujah’ day. Mark met with his surgeon, Dr. Ferrone, and then with his oncologists, Dr. Kwak and Dr. Hong, and got great reports from all. Dr. Ferrone went over the surgical procedure and the pathology report with us. The cancerous tumor was totally removed, lymph nodes from the area were removed, a slice of pancreas was taken for biopsy purposes, and a five inch piece of colon was removed. All were biopsied and only the tumor was positive for cancer. She feels like she got it all because, as she put it, “There’s not much left in there.” The chyle leak has all but stopped, so the drainage tube was removed and the twenty metal staples from the incision were removed. She asked Mark to continue on a low-fat diet and said she would see us in three months. Low-fat is sure better than no-fat, so we were happy with that. We then met with both the oncologist and radiation oncologist. We were anticipating that they might recommend follow-up chemo or radiation, but they just want Mark to come back in two weeks for a base-line scan and then again in October for a follow-up scan before we sail south for the winter. They both expressed how pleased they were that Dr. Ferrone was able to remove the tumor. They mentioned again that the team of doctors they work with thought it would not be possible, so they were elated that Dr. Ferrone was able to work her magic. Getting that tumor out was the only chance that Mark had of possibly really beating this whole cancer thing. With the tumor out, he has the chance of a total cure. If the tumor could not have been removed, he would have been on maintenance drugs for the duration. We are so thankful for the dedication of the doctors at Mass General and we are so thankful that we are here where we can get that kind of care. We understand how cancer works and are aware that it could rear its ugly head again at some point, but the best therapy is to not dwell on that and to go on with life as though none of this has ever happened. So that is what we plan to do. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! As I write those words, I can hear the congregation in the Methodist church in Tonga singing that song for their new king. We felt so privileged to be there in 2006 to witness that event and the sounds of that memory lift my heart—just as the words of the physicians at Mass General today lifted my heart. Whoever thought that hearing something is ‘negative’ could be so joyous, but hearing ‘negative’ in relation to a pathology report is joyous. Hallelujah!
