Bob Schaefer Bob's Battle

    This is the place where Bob tells his story...where to begin! Those of you who know Bob know he is not a person that likes to draw attention to himself in this way...at all. He is a joyful, funny, vivacious, compassionate, loyal, dedicated man. 
     We will begin a little over two years ago.  During the year that we were making preparations for our middle daughter, Christina, to be married, Bob showed symptoms that indicated he needed a colonoscopy. The results of that test revealed a fairly large tumor that, after being biopsied, was malignant. Because Bob would have crawled down the wedding aisle with Christina by his side, the surgeon knew he was up against time. Bob was scheduled for surgery and three weeks later, walked our beautiful daughter down the aisle. Such a praise to Jesus! Another praise is that after the 18 inches of colon that was removed was tested, there were absolutely no cancer cells detected! In light of that, chemotherapy wasn't advised. He could have had it but the percentages of it ensuring the return of the cancer was low. 
     Each December after the surgery, Bob went for his recommended tests. His blood tests came back that the malignancy was well under the threshold that it needed to be to indicate that the cancer was not there.  
     Four weeks ago, Bob and I were relaxing in our living room and I asked him how he was feeling. When he said, "Fine.", there was something that told me to ask him, "Really? Are you sure?" That's when he proceeded to tell me about a pain he was having in his left side that had started a few days prior. Well, I, being the sweet, gentle, quiet wife (wink) told him that if he didn't make a doctor's appointment to have it checked, that I would tell the family that was coming in from afar for Christina and Blake's graduation. Hey! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
     Bob saw a general practitioner and was told that it most likely was muscle related and prescribed him muscle relaxers and anti inflammatory medication along with doing a blood test to check his colon cancer marker (CEA). The Wednesday after Christmas, the CEA results came back showing a significant elevation. It's baaaaaaack! That week, God orchestrated it to where Bob was able to get a CT Scan and go to his previous surgeon. The surgeon broke the news to us that he couldn't operate because the cancer was not in his colon this time. The cancer, to the best he could tell, is in his liver and abdominal wall. So, he scheduled an appointment for Bob to go to his oncologist. The oncologist told us that not only was the cancer in his liver and abdominal wall but it was also in his spleen, rib, and of course, lymph nodes. It isn't a deep mass type of cancer, it is shallow in the places it is located. 
     Please follow the journals to find out more about our journey through Bob's battle.