Wednesday and Friday

Sorry to take so long with this update. Guess it just takes a while to absorb some of this stuff. Our Wednesday trip included Jack's brother Don and sister Jean. Always good to have extra ears. The first thing that happened is the removal of Jack's staples. He was very brave and Cynthia was very gentle. Even today his scar is looking very good. He is a fast healer. This is a good thing.

Next we met with his surgeon to get the results of the biopsy. This is the scary part, but read on. Jack has a grade three brain tumor. http://www.abta.org/index.cfm?contentid=263&oligodendroglioma-%20oligoastrocytoma-%20oligo This is the link to the ABTA.Org website which gives the most current and objective information. The good news is that the radiologist we met with is VERY optimistic that he can at least slow this thing down and give Jack many good years to look forward to. The chemotherapy doctor was also very optimistic.

We had thought that we would get the radiation done in Bremerton. However, we have decided to stay with the UW because they are specialists who work ONLY with brain tumors. This was a tough decision because of the logistics of the matter. We will have to travel to the UW 5 days a week for 6 weeks for the radiation. We have it figured out that we can leave our house at 8:15 AM and be home by 12:30 or 1:00. Breakfast at home and lunch at home on our return. We will have to put in about 4 and a half hours of work each day for 6 weeks. Now if you compare that to most people who hold down regular jobs for 10 hours a day and that we will look forward to "retirement" in only 6 weeks, that's not such a bad deal. For the first couple of weeks at least we can walk on the ferry. After that we will drive on the ferry and get priority loading on the ferry, free parking at the UW and also handicap parking privileges if we need that. All these things make the travel much more palatable. Gotta look at it as an adventure!

Today we went over the the U and Jack was fitted for a mask that he will wear during the radiology treatments. The mask will act as a map for concentration the "rays" within two Centimeters of where they belong. This is a pretty amazing science. It will take a few days for his plan and map to get put together and we will probably start radiation the week of February 16.

At the same time we will start chemotherapy which will be administered orally at home every day for 42 days. While he gets weekends off for the radiation, the chemo goes 7 days a week.

This can all seem overwhelming. The side effects, though not horrible, can be rough. The good news is that Jack is a real trooper and is looking forward to getting through this with the best possible outcome. And we see a great vacation coming at the end of the 6 weeks. A time to CELEBRATE.

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. If you have any questions or comments, pleas e-mail or comment on the blog and I will get back to you when I can. We look forward to the next few weeks and know that God has a great and wondrous plan for us.