Time for Some Rest

Hi Everyone,

Eric again. Dad had a bit of a rough night last night. Nothing serious – he’s just in pain and having a hard time sleeping. The doctors think it’s important he spend the next few days getting as much rest as possible. In light of this, we’d request that everyone hold off on visits until things improve. We’ll be sure to post another update once we get there. Again, thank you so much for all your love and support. We truly appreciate everything.

Get some rest, Daddio – we love you!

Moving Forward - Liver Surgery

Hi Everyone,

This is Eric – my turn to update the blog. Dad went in for his first surgery yesterday morning. Both Mom and Dad arrived at the hospital around 6:00 am, and they took Dad back around 8:00. In total, his surgery lasted around 4 hours. We finally got to see him around 2:00 in his room at the U of U hospital.

The surgery went very well. The surgeons ended up removing about 60% of Dad’s liver. They said the margins were clear, and they’re confident they were able to remove all the cancer-affected areas. In addition to the liver resection, the surgeons removed Dad’s gallbladder. Dad’s doctors say he’ll be in a fair amount of pain over the next few weeks. They estimate it’ll take about 3 months for his liver to regenerate – truly a miracle the human body can do such a thing!

All things considered, Dad looked and acted great. He was in and out for most of the afternoon due to the anesthesia and pain meds, but when he was “in” he was in high spirits, joking with the staff and us. Obviously, the anesthesia made Dad a little loopy, which added to the fun. Grandad (Dad’s dad) was in the room with us. Dad was going in and out and every time he came to he’d see Grandad and say, “Oh, hey Pa.” He must have done that 8-9 times. Later in the day, the nurse was explaining to Dad that his pain meds were set up so that he could simply press a button to receive an infusion. The nurse made it very clear that only Dad was to push this button. When he heard that, Dad said, “Button button, I’ve got the button” and proceeded to wave it in front of all of us. I so admire his courage, strength, and overall positive outlook on life during this difficult time.

As for next steps… Dad will be in the hospital for around 5-7 days. Hotel Huntsman is apparently quite full right now, so he may spend the entire time in the U of U hospital. The doctors say he should be able to get up and walk around today. After that, he'll take a few weeks for recovery and we'll wait to see what's next.

The silver lining in all of this is the opportunity to stop the craziness of life for a moment and reflect. One thing I’ve been thinking a lot about over the last few months is humility. Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.” I’ve been truly amazed by both my parents’ courage and positivity throughout this experience, but I am in awe of their humility. Finishing with the roller coaster-ride of my Mom’s cancer journey only to start my Dad’s, I can only imagine their desire to ask “why?” But, in place of frustration and resent, I see only their efforts to serve each other and those around them. In addition, words cannot describe the gratitude I feel toward each person who has put the needs of my family ahead of their own over these last few months. You are each a testament that God acts through his children on earth.

We all love you, Daddio. Keep showing cancer who’s boss!

Twists and Turns

Cliff here...

So, as mentioned in the last post, my team of doctors, known as the Tumor Board, met on April 12 to discuss my treatment plan.  On April 13 I talked with my nurse and learned the basics; that thanks to my response to the chemo, the remaining three chemo treatments would be postponed, and my liver surgery would be moved up.  The rest of the story would come today.....

We met with my liver surgeon, then with my oncologist.  This is where the twists and turns come in.  The liver surgeon says my liver has responded extremely well and is in prime condition for resection (that's where they cut out the bad stuff and sew up the good stuff).  He went on to say that more chemo at this time may actually be detrimental as it does cause some damage to the liver.  If we were to do the remaining three treatments now, it is likely we would not get the optimal results that surgery now would provide.

The oncologist, on the other hand, would have preferred to do all eight chemo treatments before any surgery.  When you understand their varying perspectives, it makes sense.  The liver surgeon is all about preserving a healthy liver.  The oncologist is all about eradicating cancer not only from your liver, but from your whole body.  His plan now gets sidelined, so the treatment preferences can certainly collide.  You quickly learn to accept that even though they are experts, the science still isn't perfect.  We are still 150% confident in the surgeons/specialists attending to me.

So the plan is liver surgery on April 28,  just ten days from now.  They will be cutting out 60% of it.  Even though the tumor has shrunk significantly, margins will be based on its original size, to be more certain he gets all the bad stuff.  In case you didn't know, your liver regenerates.  They say mine will grow back to adequate size within three months.  Liver surgery is kind of like a timing belt, you know, where they soak you for a new water pump at the same time?  With liver surgery, in most cases they rip out your gall bladder because it's in the way, probably somewhat diseased anyway, and is expendable.  Then they don't bother to stuff it back in.  So odds of me getting gall stones in the future pretty much go to zero!  So there's a silver lining for you :)

The bummer is this pretty much kills my ability to go to my darling niece Ashley's wedding, and a short family trip we had planned.  Cancer is pretty indiscriminate.  It likes to dictate what you do and don't do.

I'll be hanging out at Huntsman Cancer Institute for 5-7 days following surgery.  The food is pretty good at The Bistro if you want to stop by.  Lots of crossword puzzles scattered all over the place too if you need a challenge.  After that fun time I will be home recovering for something like 4-6 weeks.  Shoot me now.  They mentioned having the strength to go to the grocery store at about 4 weeks post-op.  Thankfully they never mentioned EVER having the strength to go to Wal-Mart.

What happens after liver surgery appears to be up for debate again.  The plan is a radiation regimen of 25 treatments, starting after liver recovery, then a few weeks of rest, then colon resection.  The oncologist wants to squeeze in at least three more chemo treatments, either before the radiation or concurrent with it.  That's the part that will get sorted out later.

So there you have it.  The twists and turns of cancer.  Certainly there will be more to come.

-Cliff 

PET Scan and Chemo #5... In the words of Mr. Bean (Rat Race), I’m winning, I’m winning!!!!

Cliff had another PET scan on Friday, April 1st.  Today we found out the results of that scan.  With Cliff’s CEA counts dropping dramatically a couple of weeks ago, we really wondered what this scan would find and we were not disappointed.  In the exact words of Cliff’s oncologist, “your cancer in both your colon and your liver have shrunk substantially and we don’t see any additional spots on any other organs”.   Those words brought us complete joy!!!   We were able to see the images of Cliff’s colon and liver taken back in January, and those that were taken on Friday side by side, and we were surprised at the differences.  IT IS WORKING and we are so grateful. 

Cliff’s team of doctors will be meeting either tomorrow or next Tuesday to talk about “the next steps”.   We do know that they will more than likely do two separate surgeries, one on the colon then sometime later they will do the liver.  Although the cancer mass in his liver is much smaller than it was, they suspect they will still be removing a large portion of it.  Onward and upward we go.  Cliff’s next chemo treatment (#5) will be this Thursday. 

As I write this I can’t stop thinking about Cliff’s outlook on life.  When we first started this journey, Cliff’s oncologist told him that his attitude would make a difference.   I am always amazed at how Cliff finds something to be grateful for and to smile about.  He never complains and is often the one that is picking up our family and cheering us on.  He has been such an example to all of us.  I love watching my children look into their father’s eyes with such respect and love. They adore him, as do I.   

We are so grateful for friends and family who continue to remember us in their prayers, bring in meals, treats, cards, texts, etc.  We never know what we might find on our doorstep.  It truly is humbling and we are so thankful for each of you.  We know without a doubt that this journey/trial/training is not an accident and that if we will put our trust in our Heavenly Father we will come out of this experience better than we went into it. 

Below is a picture most of you have probably already seen on Facebook, but because this is somewhat of a journal for us we wanted to post it here too.  This last weekend Cliff was able to give our granddaughter a name and a blessing (this is something our church does when a baby is born).  It was one of those nights that we will never forget.  We love you Myla Kate Baughman and are so glad you are a part of our family.  

As always…..GO, FIGHT, WIN!!!!!