Gettin' ready

Although the rainy weather continues and the Red Sox choked last night, we're still excited about Dad leaving the hospital tomorrow.

The most exciting sight upon my arrival at the hospital this morning was seeing my father in real clothes (khaki shorts and a Red Sox sweatshirt) instead of a hospital Johnny. Janice left soon after I arrived as she had spent the night at the hospital to help make it more comfortable for Dad. Dad was able to sleep a bit better, as they took a couple of late night strolls, which helped tire him out. Before Janice left, she and Dad took a walk outside the hospital. This was Dad's first breath of fresh air in a week. It felt good to be outside and buy a Boston Globe, even if it was a bit cold and damp.

The other excitement of the day was discovering that Dad's friend and former colleague from the Rochester Times Union, Read Kingsbury probably upstate's best-known editorial page editor for decades before he retired in the 1980s, is in a room just a few doors down in the hospital. They're still figuring out what's going on with him, but it was lovely for Mom and Dad to catch up with Read and Neva although the circumstances aren't ideal.

The radiation oncologist stopped by and we learned that it looks like Dad will have chemo for a few months before getting the radiation. We are hoping that he'll be able to get the "cyber-knife" radiation, but that will have to be determined by scans after the second round of chemo. It is unclear who will be doing the chemo and where, but that should be figured out at the follow-up appointment in Boston at the end of July. The surgical oncologist said that Dad is looking good.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the last couple of days has centered around the possibility that Dad has diabetes. We're assuming that he has diabetes and so we're learning all about blood sugar, carbohydrates and sugars. Dad is not a fan of pricking himself but he'll figure it out.

Tomorrow will be full of excitement before we leave the hospital: instructions on what medicines to take when, they'll take out the 32(!) staples in Dad's abdomen and send us on our way. It's a long drive back, but well worth it.

Golden seeds...of hope?!

Jay got out of surgery safely today at 3:17pm. The doctor said his body was strong, and that he was the only one whose blood pressure didn't change at all during the entire procedure. He seems to have internalized his years of thick-skinned, steel-nerved reporter-dom.

While doctors were not able to remove the tumor, as it was wrapped around a major artery, they placed "golden seeds" on the entire surface of the tumor, and performed a bypass of the affected region. There was no cancer found outside the tumor, which is good news. The golden seeds will enable Jay to receive targeted, intense radiation on the tumor. This type of radiation is only available at 3 cancer centers in the country, and provides in 3 days what traditional radiation treatment takes 6 weeks to provide. The bypass will alleviate the symptoms that pancreatic cancer usually causes, and make him much more comfortable (and, importantly, able to golf and have a beer afterwards with little problem).

The hope is that this radiation and chemo will slow the tumor's growth, and in the best case scenario, shrink the tumor so that it may someday be removed. We heard stories of people living with the bypass for several years, and of one man whose tumor shrunk and was successfully removed.

Jay will now be at Beth Israel to recover for a week or so, and then will come home for additional recovery so he can store up the energy to fight the tumor during chemo & radiation.

Thank you all for you positive thoughts today. We think they made a difference!