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Consultations

In the last couple of weeks there have been many consultations with new doctors that are being added to Sid's medical team. They have all been so kind and professional. They have taken great effort to care for Sid; emotionally, physically, intellectually -  they have gone to great lengths to make sure we are ready for the fight ahead. 

 Because of Sid's initial Stage 4 diagnosis, surgery wasn't ever supposed to be on the table. But due to a combination of a few factors (I'm not sure I could do it justice here) they proposed trying it with this current tumor. However, the medical team is a little hesitant to just jump right into surgery. The hesitation is that if there are any lingering cancer cells floating around in the body that are not currently detected on scans, they would be doing Sid a HUGE disservice by doing surgery. If the surgery was done and the cancer were to pop up elsewhere, we wouldn't be able to jump back into chemo until Sid was fully recovered from the surgery. The recovery process from the surgery is extremely long and difficult as it removes the bottom third of the esophagus and a large portion of the stomach.

That being said, after consulting with Sid's oncologist, we are all in agreement that the best approach is to do a rigorous 5 week chemo and radiation plan followed by a 4 week break to recover. The idea is to treat the tumor and the local area around the tumor and allow for some time to ensure nothing starts growing elsewhere. He will then get another PET scan. If everything still shows cancer is confined to the esophagus, we will move forward with the surgery. Thankfully we were able to arrange to have the radiation and chemo carried out in Logan. The surgery will most likely take place at the Huntsman.

Thank you for the prayers given for Sid's medical team. We both feel very confident that our hope that they would be guided to the best plan has come to fruition.

Please pray for strength for Sid - physically, emotionally... every facet. It haunts me to watch him face treatments knowing he's going to feel perpetually worse with each one. 

I am so grateful for the offers of help from so many. I know from our last bout of this that I am going to need it. I also know that the overwhelm of it all causes my brain to glitch and I can't verbalize, or even distinguish, where I need it. I'm focusing so hard on trying to keep all the plates spinning that I can't summon enough brain power to organize my thoughts sufficiently to decide what plate to pass off to someone else. I could use a prayer or two to know when to ask for help and what to ask for.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." - Deuteronomy 31:6

God is good even when our circumstances are not. We have still felt His love amidst all of this. He has not forsaken us but is, in fact, right in it with us.

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