The beginning of this story is posted here, in Steve’s Story. From there, update are in chronological order and were copied from a text thread I had updating my family. I finally decided today (11/22) to put it all in one spot so none of it gets lost. It is quite the story and will be nice to look back through when this has all passed.
UPDATE FROM APRIL 12, 2020 Hi family!
My dad wanted me to reach out to everyone & give them an update on his health.
My dad has been diagnosed with rectal cancer. He has been having symptoms for months from what he thought were hemorrhoids. The pain finally became so severe he went in to his doctor. After a CT scan and colonoscopy with a biopsy, they are getting him set up for treatment. He will first go through 5 weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. After those five weeks, they will do a mini-colonoscopy to determine how the treatment is working. If favorable, he will continue chemo. If the results aren't what they would like, they will do surgery and then more chemo. With the location, it is on the edge of his rectum and anus, so he thinks if surgery is needed, it would be removing just a small part of the colon.
While we loved Dr. Levine (my mom's oncologist), we really never wanted to see him again. He will now be my dad's oncologist. His doctor has already contacted him to have his office set up appointments.
Dad is currently in a tremendous amount of pain and can't even sit down. He lays in bed all day 😢 It even hurts him to walk to the kitchen to make food but he won't let me come over for meals for him....yet. Being I don't work, I will be the one taking him to his appointments. This will also reduce the exposure he has since all of this COVID stuff is going around. He was already high risk with his age but now that he will he going through chemo, it is going to be even more of a risk.
Love you all🥰 Stay home. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
UPDATE JULY 21, 2020
Hi! Sorry I haven’t updated you. He is doing ok. He finished 28 treatments of radiation and daily oral chemo. We now are waiting for his scans on Aug 13 & the results on Aug 20. From there, it will determine if he needs surgery or not. If he does, that will take place and after he heals he will go through roughly 6 months of the daily oral chemo and weekly IV chemo. If he doesn’t, he will start both checks immediately.
He still is sore and has a hard time sitting so he is mostly laying in bed. He did get a comfortable outdoor chair from my brother for a Father’s Day, so he has randomly sat out there with visitors.
He is SO much better than when this first started. The pain was unbearable. At least now, even with the pain there, it isn’t as bad and he’s able to move around and do more.
Just a quick note to let everyone know Dad has been doing really well. He has been focusing on himself and living a healthy lifestyle. It really suits him!
He will be heading into surgery on 4/19. Please send prayers/positive vibes his way.
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