As many of you have heard by now, Hock (Sherrill, Dewey) Hockenberry has recently been diagnosed with gastric (stomach) cancer. With the Hockenberrys' permission, we decided to set up this CaringBridge site to provide a line of communication between them and the many friends and family members who love and care about them.
Missie and Hock are so appreciative of the outpouring of love, support, and prayers during this scary and stressful time. Obviously, keeping everyone updated individually is practically impossible and is emotionally exhausting. We hope that this site will be a way for you to keep up with what’s going on with Hock’s treatment and to leave them encouraging messages. Also, we’ll be able to post specific needs they may have (even though we all know they’re not ones to ask for help).
Now, to give you a brief timeline of what’s happened so far and what the future looks like….
May 23 - Hock went in for a routine colonoscopy/endoscopy, and an area of concern in his esophagus/stomach was biopsied.
May 31 – Received call from the gastroenterologist that the biopsy results came back as cancer.
June 9 - Follow-up PET scan showed that there was also a 5 cm spot on his kidney.
June 10 - Oncologist in Pensacola referred Hock to a surgeon at UAB (University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center)
June 16 - Met with a surgical gastroenterologist at UAB who explained that the gastric cancer is an aggressive one called signet cell carcinoma and that since it’s located at the junction of his esophagus and stomach, they would have to remove his stomach. The cancer on his kidney is unrelated but will need to be removed as well.
June 21 - An endoscopic ultrasound showed the size (2 cm) and thickness (through 3 or 4 linings of the stomach) of the gastric cancer.
June 23-24 Returned to UAB for a laparoscopic “look-around,” a biopsy of the kidney, and insertion of a port. Met with a urologist at UAB regarding the renal cancer.
June 29 – Genetic testing of gastric cancer came back negative.
June 30 – Attended Chemo Education class
July 1 – Met with an oncologist at Sacred Heart to discuss chemotherapy plan.
The Plan:
CHEMOTHERAPY: Starting Wednesday, July 6, Hock will receive chemotherapy every other week for a total of two months (4 sessions). The sessions will last 5-6 hours and then he’ll be sent home with a pump for 24 hours. The following week, he’ll have 3 days of injections to build white cells.
SURGERY: Following a month of recovery from the chemotherapy, Hock will have surgery to remove his stomach as well as all or part of his kidney.
CHEMOTHERAPY: After he’s recovered from surgery, he’ll have 2-3 more months of chemotherapy.
The Big Question:
As many of you are probably wondering, “What is life like without a stomach?” Initially following surgery, Hock will need a feeding tube while he recovers. After the feeding tube is removed, he’ll be able to eat “regular” food, but will just have to do so in small amounts. So instead of the typical 3 meals a day, he’ll be having 10-12 small meals a day. Since his esophagus will connect directly to his intestine, he won’t have the benefit of the stomach acids to break down the food and begin the digestive process. Obviously, being sure that he gets the proper nutrients will be important, and they feel certain they’ll be assigned a nutritionist once they get to that point.
We know this is a lot of information, but we wanted to share what we know at this point. Naturally, things are subject to change and if they do, we’ll post them on this site. We’ll also provide updates as they continue to have appointments, tests, and procedures.
Thank you for joining us on this difficult journey with the Hockenberrys and for using this site to stay informed and share your love and concern. It’s appreciated more than you’ll ever know.
We just wanted to let everyone know that Hock’s surgical team is so impressed with how well he’s recovered from his surgery and has resumed so many of his normal activities. However, there is some concern about a small (5 mm) spot that showed up on the lower lobe of his lung on this most recent PET scan. The spot was too small to biopsy, but they’ll be repeating the PET scan in 6 to 8 weeks to determine if it’s growing/cancerous. Please pray that this is just a benign spot and that no further treatment will be necessary.
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