Chemo Dr. Visit...

Thursday, January 29, 2009: We met with Ron's Medical Oncologist again today to bring him up to speed, but he was already up to speed! He had already spoken at length to the ENT Surgeon at UW-Madison about Ron. He said the surgeon asked him if he thought Ron could handle the surgery, and he said that if ANYONE could, it would definitely be Ron! He marvels at Ron's strength and attitude every time we see him. He also told us that the other doctors on the team do not feel that Ron is a candidate for chemotherapy after this surgery, but he wants to give him at least four treatments anyway. We said YES, you be a rebel! We definitely want it. We are trying to buy as much time as we can.
The Oncologist felt that the cancer would come back, possibly even within a few weeks or months again, but we know that we are doing what we have to do at this time. And Ron is clear that even knowing the cancer will come back, he is still willing to go through this huge life-changing surgery, so that is what we will do. The doctor did confirm that this cancer is poorly differentiated, which means it spreads much faster than "normal" cancer. We are also dealing with the Perineural Invasion, which increases the chance of recurrence. So the odds are against us, but we will fight it to the end!
UW-Madison had also mentioned to us that Ron should probably apply for disability, and we had never thought of that. He is retiring from farming now, and is selling his shares to his nephews to give us some income, but we will be applying for disability also. The MO agreed that it was a good idea, and didn't think Ron would have any problems qualifying. So we are gearing up for Monday. Ron has been deciding what he would like to eat on Sunday, and we finally decided I would make "Thanksgiving" dinner, turkey and all the trimmings. And it will be a day of thanks: thankful that Ron is still here, thankful that we have a wonderful family, and wonderful friends, and thankful that we found our wonderful team at UW-Madison.
We will also be thankful for seeing all of Ron's friends on Saturday night at the Zenda Tap! Don't forget to come and wish him well!