Wednesday, September 10, 2008

An Unwanted Journey: Day 1022 - Bad News, Worse News.


I had hoped to take over writing this blog under happier circumstances but today, that is not the case. Don was in surgery for two hours when the surgical team made a disturbing discovery. The surgeon found that there were many more small cancerous lumps on the liver that did not show up on the CT scan; the cancer has spread to the surrounding area. Because of this the doctor did not remove any of his liver. The current treatment plan is to go forward with chemotherapy as surgery is no longer an effective option. 

Don is looking well and currently in the acute care centre at the hospital. Unfortunately, Don's unwanted journey has taken a far different turn than what we had all hoped. Before the surgery the doctor explained all the things that could go wrong during such an operation; I never considered that it could be this bad. Chemotherapy is very difficult on my father and it only really serves as a measure to delay the spread of the cancer further. It is hard to imagine him going through that again without the goal of a second surgery to fully remove the tumors from his liver. Don will hopefully be able to return to blogging within a day to explain the issue further.

Ian Spencer

the image above is an excerpt from Black Hole, the award winning graphic novel from Charles Burns. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for filling in Don's absence.

I am very sorry for Don and his family.

I wish you all the strength to endure a little longer.

Anonymous said...

I am so devistated. There are no words to say except that I am very, very sorry.

I will continue to hold you all up in prayer.
Aunt Anita

Anonymous said...

Don & family - my heart breaks to hear about this turn of events. You're in our prayers.

Ruth

Don Spencer said...

Bad news to be sure. But, there is an opportunity here, somewhere.

Plan B is all about the drugs and about dealing with increasing fatigue, neuropathy, and limited physical resources. I will have to harness my strength and concentrate on what matters most.

Figuring all that out will be a full-time job in itself. Thanks for all your support.

Don