I took my son to my parents today for a visit with my mom for Mother's Day. While she was opening her cards, she reached out, swatted my dad on the arm and said, "Tell her the good news."
Late last year my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was a small lesion on the perimeter of his upper, left lobe that grew before treatment could begin. He was initially told he wasn't a candidate for surgery, but a different doctor told him he was. The day before he was to be operated on, he was told the surgery was canceled; his other medical conditions made surgery too risky. An entire month had been wasted on tests and x-rays only to have the same conclusion drawn. A month when he could have been receiving treatment but was instead becoming more and more stressed out.
In the end, the month wasn't entirely wasted; we learned of another condition that my father had that we had to worry about. Luckily, it's a treatable condition.
So, my mom swatted my dad, and my dad turned to me, smiled, and began telling me that he'd an appointment today with his doctor at the cancer center to review the x-rays that had been taken on Monday. In the radiologist's report it was noted that the tumor appeared to have been removed surgically. No more tumor. NO MORE TUMOR!!
This was only the preliminary report. My dad will have more tests, including an MRI and PET Scan.
My dad hadn't been a candidate for surgery, the best course of treatment for cancer. Neither had he been a candidate for chemotherapy. He was left with radiation. Not the best option, but the best one available to him. And it worked!
I cried when he told me. I cried when I called my sister to tell her and cried harder when she started crying. I hugged my dad and cried. I hugged my mom and we cried together.
Any one of us could die at any moment, for any reason. Just because my dad is, for the moment, cancer free does not mean his other health issues can be brushed aside. But it means that, for this moment at least, that my dad will not be dying of cancer.
Thank you, Jesus, for hearing and answering our prayers. I owe ya.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm so glad for you and your family. A cancer diagnosis is such a scary thing and when there are other health factors affecting the treatment, it makes the future seem even more uncertain. I hope that your dad continues to be well so his family can experience his love and wisdom for many years to come.
ReplyDelete