November, 2006. The liver biopsy procedure was finished in less than 45 minutes. With gritted teeth we waited the promised 3-4 days; a week later we still had heard nothing. The reply, when it arrived, was ambiguous: metastatic carcinoma with neuro-endocrine features and an unknown primary, the source of the cancerous cells. Another two months would pass before enough diagnostic clues accumulated to suggest a treatment plan.
Meanwhile, we kept our own counsel and awaited more accurate information or, at the very least, an informed prognosis. Withholding news of this magnitude was agonizing. We yearned for, and needed, the support of loved ones but felt we could not saddle them with the weight of the news without also passing along information, however tenuous, that would help them understand what we were going through and faced in the future. After six weeks all we had learned was: I have cancer but we don’t know what kind or the source of the malignant cells spewing throughout my body. Imagine a general receiving the message to attack without an identified enemy or a direction in which to aim weapons!
With Thanksgiving looming and a family trip scheduled, we were obligated to notify the family. The task was daunting, and the prospect of repeating the devastating news over and over was exhausting even before beginning. Starting a blog seemed the most efficient means, staying in touch while preserving our resources for the enormous task of self-education ahead.
At this point, the narrative is taken up by the November 19, 2006 blog posting. It was quite a roller coaster ride before finding a measure of stability with the Astra-Zeneca Zactima experimental drug, started August 2007. Your support has been invaluable in sustaining our spirits, and a positive outlook does indeed make the medicine work better, just like our parents told us.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted: September 1, 2008
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