We are officially on day 9 our new “normal”. I have to say, it been incredibly weird that some hours have felt like days (typically when we were waiting for results/doctors), and yet in reality the last 9 days have been a complete whirlwind. We knew when we got the diagnosis that we would have to move quickly, so I went into turbo mode and we had quite the lineup of follow up appointments, second opinions, and much more this week. (Translation: A ton of paperwork) We are fortunate to live near some of the best doctors in the U.S. and were able to go to University of Chicago Hospital & Rush Hospital for 2nd & 3rd opinions this week. We found out some interesting facts along the way, the most mind blowing one being that less than 400 people per year in the U.S. have the type of cancer Tom has with the tumor in the soft tissue around the lung. Hence why it was so important to get second opinions and seek out doctors who have ever even seen this type of rare cancer before.
After taking all the information and attempting to process it, we finally have ourselves a plan. Obviously, I use the word plan loosely because so much of this is going to evolve as we go and see how Tom is reacting and how well the tumor is shrinking, but it’s a short term plan nonetheless. So Monday begins what will be quite an adventure for the next several weeks. Tom will be having surgery for his port – we are affectionately referring to this as his Iron Man Surgery. Then, as mentioned, we are moving quickly so chemo starts Tuesday. Tom will be receiving one of the most intense types of chemo treatment possible for a few reasons (1) the type of cancer he has (2) his age (3) we make sure this thing doesn’t spread. After our first week of chemo, Tom will have two weeks off, and then we start it all over again. We know this is going to be tough, we know he is going to have to fight hard but we are ready to get treatment started.
To prepare, we met with our oncologist and went through everything to expect in great detail. After going through all the symptoms of his chemo regimen with us, Tom jokingly replied “This is like the commercials you see on TV that once you hear all the symptoms/side effects of the drug you think to yourself why the heck would anyone ever take that?” A valid point. But, if this gets us to cancer free then we will manage the symptoms and carry on. :)
Despite what has been an emotional week with lots of decisions, we are incredibly grateful for the team of doctors we have and how comfortable they have all made us feel in this process. So now we relax this weekend and prepare for next week…
After taking all the information and attempting to process it, we finally have ourselves a plan. Obviously, I use the word plan loosely because so much of this is going to evolve as we go and see how Tom is reacting and how well the tumor is shrinking, but it’s a short term plan nonetheless. So Monday begins what will be quite an adventure for the next several weeks. Tom will be having surgery for his port – we are affectionately referring to this as his Iron Man Surgery. Then, as mentioned, we are moving quickly so chemo starts Tuesday. Tom will be receiving one of the most intense types of chemo treatment possible for a few reasons (1) the type of cancer he has (2) his age (3) we make sure this thing doesn’t spread. After our first week of chemo, Tom will have two weeks off, and then we start it all over again. We know this is going to be tough, we know he is going to have to fight hard but we are ready to get treatment started.
To prepare, we met with our oncologist and went through everything to expect in great detail. After going through all the symptoms of his chemo regimen with us, Tom jokingly replied “This is like the commercials you see on TV that once you hear all the symptoms/side effects of the drug you think to yourself why the heck would anyone ever take that?” A valid point. But, if this gets us to cancer free then we will manage the symptoms and carry on. :)
Despite what has been an emotional week with lots of decisions, we are incredibly grateful for the team of doctors we have and how comfortable they have all made us feel in this process. So now we relax this weekend and prepare for next week…