About my Dad...

A few weeks ago my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.  Waldenstrom's is a blood type cancer.  That time he had checked himself in because over the course of a couple months he had been feeling severely fatigued, and had barely energy to do anything.  Over those couple weeks he had started to look pale and physically tired.

Upon the first blood test the doctors found his blood's hemoglobin to be very low.  Normal range for a man is 14 and his was 7 when.  Immediately they began blood transfusions to bring his hemoglobin count back up.  

Dad had the whole work-up while there.  CAT scans, x-rays, blood tests every 6-8 hours.  Doctors couldn't figure out where the blood was going: he wasn't bleeding internally, or through his urine or stool, and no external bleeding such as a bloody nose.  The doctors decided to do a bone marrow biopsy.


He had spent nearly a week in the hospital before doctors could give him a diagnosis.  They had found lymph nodes swollen in various parts of his body. A scan found a small mass, about the size of your fingertip, on his left lung.  The lung cancer was not related to all the years of smoking, but the doctors deemed it to be environmental.



He went to an oncologist for a second opinion who confirmed the first diagnosis: stage 2 lung cancer and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.  The oncologist explained that the mass on his lung was so small that they could surgically remove it before it spreads, and the Waldenstrom's could be treated with a drug called Rituxin.  

As bad as the news may have seemed, the prognosis was very good.  The doctors wanted to start the Rituxin treatment right away and get him in immediately to remove the spot on his lung.  The oncologist explained to my father that people with Waldenstrom's who received the treatments had an 80% chance of never having a problem with the disease for many years if at all.  

Through all of this my dad has had the best outlook and is ready to attack these problems head on.  He had his first treatment on Friday and on Saturday he looked and felt like a million bucks.


Yesterday was his lung operation.  Doctors were concerned that the lymph nodes throughout his body that were swollen may be related to the spot on his lung.  My dad's hemoglobin count had dipped back down and the doctors decided not to biopsy a lymph node in his chest area but they proceeded with the lung operation.  Their concern was that they couldn't control the bleeding in his chest if they had removed a lymph node, but the bleeding in the lungs could be controlled.


Last night I went up to see my dad in intensive care and it was hard to fight back tears.  I could see he was in a lot of pain.  At that moment I knew how he must have felt when I was in the intensive care unit and it was him looking down at me.  They got my dad set up with a machine to administer his pain meds at the push of a button: he was doing a lot of button mashing while I was there.  The nurse showed me his back where the incision was and the bandage was pretty large.  The surgeon had told my mom that he was only going to make a cut large enough to get his hand in -- ouch!



The oncologist came in to check on him last night while I was there and said that he should be able to get up and out of bed today.  But that seems like wishful thinking on the doctor's part.  The doctor also said that test results show that the Rituxin is already working.


The doctor's said that he should be in the hospital approximately 7-10 days.  After he gets out he'll have about a 3 month recovery over which time he will resume the Rituxin treatments. 


Getting past these first few days of post-op will be painful and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the swollen lymph nodes are not related to the spot on his lung.  If they are related that means he'll have to do chemotherapy.

I really hate the word "chemo."  It seems to be a killer more than a treatment.




What really irks me is that my dad just retired 5 years ago from the Boilermaker's trade after 25 years of service.  The whole point of retiring from work is to enjoy the money you've made over the years, and not have to deal with serious health issues.  But what really chaps my ass is that I still have a lawsuit pending from an accident I had as a Boilermaker.  I want him to relish in victory with me when my lawsuit is over.  


My dad took it pretty hard when I got hurt at work because he had put in all those years without a serious injury and I had been in the trade 2 years and nearly got killed.  I know how he felt as he sat at my bedside now.  I'd do anything to take his pain away.


Overall he's a tough old bird and his attitude towards getting better is awesome.  He still remains positive throughout this whole bump in life's road, and that's what I admire most about him.