On Monday, August 15 dad was diagnosed with gastric cancer. He has been struggling with abdominal pain since just after the 4th of July. He was prescribed Prilosec for acid reflux and told to wait a month for follow up. The pain continued to worsen and dad could hardly eat or drink. He visited the ER at Sanford in Perham August 7, and was admitted for a couple of days so they could manage his pain. There, he had an endoscopy done which showed severe gastritis. My mom said the inside of his stomach looked like raw hamburger. They sent him home after a couple of days in the hospital with pain meds and a bland diet directive. On Monday, August 15, he and my mom went in for a follow up with the surgeon who told them my dad's biopsy showed stomach cancer. That was the worst phone call my sister and I have ever received, I'm sure of that. I arrived in Fargo Wednesday morning to meet my parents at Roger Maris Cancer Center where my dad had a PET scan done to find out if the cancer had spread. We had an appointment at 430 today (Thursday) to hear the results. I never thought I could feel such relief knowing that my dad still has cancer....but the cancer has NOT spread according to the PET scan!!! So, next steps....Dad will meet with a surgical oncologist at Roger Maris after having an esophageal ultrasound to determine how many layers into the stomach the cancer has gone. After that he will need his stomach removed (gastric bypass) and most likely some chemotherapy.
Dad has lost over 20 lbs since this all started. He's getting really sick of bland smoothies but they are about all he can get down. I told him I feel bad eating in front of him and he said nothing looks good anyway...the one thing he wants and can't have are the ripe tomatoes he so looks forward to every year. He's pretty upset about that. :-). He doesn't have to worry about any of us eating tomatoes and toast in front of him, that's for sure!
His grandkids are keeping him company right now. He says he's happy to have them here with him...fighting and all.
We will keep you all posted through this site as regularly as we can. Dad, Mom, Danielle and I are so grateful for our family and friends and the support you have already shown. Thank you to our prayer warriors...the prayers have been answered. Keep on praying!! Nobody thinks cancer will happen to them...at least we certainly didn't. We are thankful for all of you and know you'll help us get through.
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