My Dad - Update

I haven't given an update about my Dad lately, so I thought I would tell you what's been going on with him - some of you may remember that he was diagnosed with lung cancer back in September. He had a large, inoperable mass on his lung as well as a couple spots in his brain. Over the last few months, he has completed 6 chemo treatments, 30 radiation treatments on his chest, and 15 total brain radiation treatments. Last week, he went and had another set of scans. The mass in his lung did shrink and is basically what they consider "dead" or inactive. This is good. The spots in his brain also shrunk (shrunk, shrank??); they are still there but smaller. This is good. But, a new finding on the scans showed something on his spine. He went today to have a bone scan to find out more about what it is and hopefully we will have those results in the next couple days. Depending on the findings, he may have to do more radiation. Overall, the doctors are pleased with his treatment results. But, this type of cancer is not going to be cured, and they said it will come back, it's just a matter of when (could be more than 24 months or even as little as 3 months). My dad is pretty negative and pessimistic about things and is convinced that it will come back sooner rather than later. During his brain radiation, he had some brain swelling. It caused him to have left-sided weakness, confusion, and a seizure. It was really scary because he was fine that morning but by that evening he looked like someone that was having a bad stroke. It wasn't a stroke, just side effects from the brain swelling. Steroids and anti-seizure meds took care of it. He is very tired, weak, and dizzy; he said he feels like a zombie. Because of all this, he has obviously not been driving. My mom stopped driving a few years ago (she will only drive if she absolutely has to), so I have been trying to help them out as much as I can. He is definitely looking forward to the spring and some warmer weather. He really wants to take a trip with my Mom to Florida and stay on the beach. As long as he is able, my sister is going to take them in May.

My Dad has always been active and on-the-go. Now, with his weakness and the long, cold winter that we have had, he mostly stays inside and sits in his recliner. Although I know he could be a lot worse, it's just hard to see him like this. His passion is bluegrass music and he has played the fiddle since he was a boy. He has a group of friends that have been playing together for several years. They have decided they are going to make a CD and he is looking forward to that. I'm glad they are doing it, it will be nice for us to have.

Please keep us in your prayers and I will let you know what we find out about the bone scan.