Surgery Update - Cautious Optimism

Dad is currently in surgery (where he has been since 7:30am), which is good news! The doctor informed us that he was able to determine that the cancer has *not* spread to the liver, and therefore he has "opened him up."

The possible outcomes now are: 1) Best Case: removal of tumor with Whipple procedure (which will be followed by chemo.radiation). 2) Do a bypass of the tumor, which would enhance Jay's quality of life, but leave the tumor intact. The surgeon would do the bypass instead of the Whipple if the cancer has spread to the surrounding arteries or further.

When Jay received his anesthesia, he was upbeat, and after assuring me and my mother of his eternal love, he asked me 1) why I didn't always do what I was told, given that he always made reasonable fatherly requests, and 2) noting that it was his day to write his column, he asked me to write his newspaper column for him. I told him - no problem. He then asked the nurse how much the surgery cost. She told him she would have to get back to him.

We are not out of the woods yet, of course: please keep those well-wishes coming!!