Today we got the phone call we have been dreading and keeping awake most nights with pure anxiety. Our oncologist and surgeon who did my dads Ivor Lewis phoned him to give the results of his operation. It seems mad to me that you have to wait that long but I guess all the testing takes time!
So the histology report showed Dad to be T3 N1 M0. The FLOT chemo had completely stopped the cancer in its tracks from spreading and shrunk the original tumour by 35% which enabled the very talented Mr Jayanthi of Broomfield hospital to get 5cm margins which have come back all clear. Not any trace of cancerous cells in any part of the tissue.
So he has told my dad for Christmas he is giving him 4 more rounds of FLOT chemo to start in January albeit at 80% strength to start as he has lost a lot of weight.
something has changed in my dad today, he managed a 1 mile jog, and I am so proud of him! There really has been some dark dark days and lots of I can’t do this or carry on anymore, but with the support of some wonderful doctors and nurses in the wonderful NHS he has some how got through it! He knows he has one more big hurdle to overcome with the chemo but has that positive attitude kicked in (it’s only took 6months!)
I just wanted to share that this disease is so unpredictable even sometimes shocks the doctors on how it reacts to the treatment path. My dad was never told his original staging as it kept changing with lymph node involvement. He was never told he would be on a curable path, but the doctor never gave up on him and did say as his tumour on pet/Ct was bursting out of the third layer he was not an early stage cancer. I guess we never know what the future holds but I am allowing myself to breath easy and relax as I have never been so emotionally exhausted.
For anyone being a care giver, look after yourself and you will find strength from within you. The CNS nurses are a valuable support as is this forum. Although we can never really understand as a non cancer patient how the patient feels, we try our best to support and be the knowledge that they need. I told my dad everyday that I love him and am super proud of him and I will help him fight every step of the way, even when he wanted to give in and would break down or have angry outbursts, I knew this wasn’t my dad but someone who was scared of the unknown and it really is a scary place but people with experience and knowledge will help and support.
what a fantastic post, great news, for your Dad, you and your family. To read that he has managed a 1 mile jog on top of a fantastic histology result is I am sure, the icing on the cake. The relief that you must be feeling, the acknowledgement that you can all breathe a moment, reset and prepare for the treatment to come, which may offer to promise a continued successful outcome, is a blessing in itself.
Your comments regarding the NHS , the CNS Nurses and the Forum here are lovely and 100% correct, as are your comments regarding angry outbursts being that of a scared person in my opinion, and I hope you continue to keep us updated on the journey that Dad and yourself are on...
Wishing you a fantastic festive season off the back of this immensely positive news and the very best of health for 2021 to you both.
Lowe'
