 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
May 30, 1999, was a day of normal activity like any other, and never a thought entered our minds that one sore throat could change our lives. Late this same evening my husband ( Bobby ) mentioned he had been having a sore throat for an entire month. I told him I felt 4 weeks was too long for a simple sore throat and he probably needed an antibiodic for it to heal. We discussed which Dr. we should go to, being he had never went to one since we were married in 1984. The next morning I made an appointment for him which was that afternoon, with an MD. Dr. Walker informed him he had strep throat, which I found very peculiar since they did not take a throat culture nor did he recieve an injection. He gave him an antbiodic and was told to come back in 2 weeks if it was not healed. Within 2 weeks, not only did the sore throat remain, he was now developing a lump on the side center of his neck. He went back to Dr. Walker and again he was given 2 more weeks of antibiodics. Meanwhile the lump was growing larger quickly. One month and still a sore throat now the lump. No way were we going back to Dr. Walker.
|
|
|
The first week of July we decided it was best to see a surgeon. Three brothers by the name Rau had excellent reputations so we made an appointment to see Dr. Eric Rau, the youngest. This Dr. was wonderful and did not waste any time scheduling Bobby for surgery to discover what the problem was. Understand, Bobby was one of the healthiest people I have ever known. He was 46 years old, and had worked out all his life. He was a boxer for many years in the past and now was a power race walker, which I may add, the fastest in our city. He did not smoke, nor drink, ate healthy and worked out 5 days a week.
The surgery was performed in mid July, 1999. Dr. Rau removed the lymph node, which was the swollen gland we were seeing. As I sat in his office after the surgery, he explained he felt it was just a bad infection and all would be well. Of course we had to wait for the pathology report for the final conclusions. For 7 days we waited impatiently. I called each day and Dr. Rau was never available to talk, although on the second day we were told the report was in and on his desk. The seventh day came and he finally came to the phone. I knew in an instant something was wrong, because he asked to speak to Bobby instead.
I told him Bobby was at work and as his wife I wanted to know the results now. He then told me one sentence I could never forget. YES, IT WAS CANCER! He apoligized several times for not calling us sooner and also he stated he really didn't think it was cancer. BUT IT WAS! What type of cancer, he did not know. he only replied it was in the throat, mouth or neck area. My whole self being, went NUMB! The Dr. hung up with me and called Bobby's beeper. Bobby was told at a phone booth he had cancer! As you can imagine, he was shocked and the work went to a halt that second, so did his thoughts and physical functioning. That day our whole life changed. We were stunned, and a million thoughts ran a race in our heads, including the thoughts of death. How could this happen to a perfectly healthy man?
What a naive thought that was. Surgery was scheduled shortly after the the midst of July. It did not take Dr. Rau, but a short time to discover where the cancer was. It was clearly a small tumor attached to the back of his left tonsil. He said he thought it was only local, but did take a multitude of other tests, such as Biopsy's and CT Scans of liver, throat and lung areas. Time for the first Oncologist visit. We were introduced to Dr. Doria at the Cancer Center. Dr. Doria's conclusion was for Bobby to have a radical surgery and remove the tonsil along with the surrounding area. Just the word radical scared us all over again, almost as horrible as the C word. We traveled to LSU Medical Center for a second opinion.
There we met a Throat Cancer Specialist by the name os Dr. Nuss. Dr. Nuss disagreed with Dr. Doria's treatment of a radical surgery. The pros of other options for treatments out weighed the cons of radical surgery. Both Dr. Nuss and Dr. Doria got together to discuss the treatments that were to be given. Chemotherapy and Radiation would be the conclusion for treatment. Three bouts of chemo, followed by chemo. and radiation combined, then 40 treatments of radiation alone.
 |
Bobby worked all through August and he never felt bad and was not without energy. First week of September he had a Venous Access Port placed between the chest and shoulders to help except the chemo, without having to always go through the veins in the arms. The next day we went to see Dr. Doria for Chemotherapy to begin. By this time, another lymph node was swollen the size of a golf ball, of course on the same side of the neck.Seems they were more concerned with the Node that was filled with cancer, than the tumor behind the tonsil.
|
The main Chemo. medication was to be Cisplatin/Platinol/Cis-Platnum. ( All the same chemo medication ) As he sat into the big comfy recliner for his first administered chemo. I had to leave the room. I sat in the waiting room waiting for the nurses to hook up the IV's and the liquids to drip into the port to enter his body. There I broke down uncontrollably. I was so upset I could not calm down for anything in the world. My thoughts were to be able to go to him and tell him, this was all a bad dream. But, I could not.
The word helplessness entered a whole new meaning for me and I discovered it was the worse feeling in the entire world. For 5 days in a row he had Chemo. and for approximently 8 hours per day. He would have 3 bouts of this every 3 weeks, then a fourth one, combined with radiation. Bobby experienced a lot of effects from the Chemo. He was bloated and was keeping the fluids which he had to have shots for. He suffered from Diahrea, constipation, weakness, nausea, sores in the mouth, no appetite, dehydration, and an extremely low count of white blood cells. Each bout with Chemo., I had to inject him with a medication to prevent the white blood cells for getting dangerously low, although it would still come to that point.
|
|
He entered the hospital for a week stay from dehydration. One day he noticed a tingling numbing sensation through his arm. the same side his port was inserted. As the day went on the arm gained a multitude of colors to it. The arm was now purple, red and blue, with hundreds of bright red dots covering it. I rushed him to the Emergency Room. There the Oncologist recognized in an instant it was a blood clot. An ultra sound revealed it to be very near the port in his chest. He was to stay another week in the hospital with an IV of blood thinners. The blood thinners were also to be taken until the completion of all his treatments.
After just one week of Chemo., we noticed the swelling of the lymph node had gone down so tremendously, we could not see it any longer. This was a true sign of Hope and encouragement that Bobby WAS going to be alright! Before his fourth Chemo. with combination of radiation was to begin, Bobby wanted a feeding tube inserted in the stomach before radiation was to start burning the throat area. He felt he would rather go through it now instead of waiting until he felt worse with physical pain. Bobby's last Chemo. treatment along with the beginning of radiation was the beginning of December, 1999. He was to have 40 radiation treatments, taken 5 days a week. After the sixth week of radiation, the Dr. had to give him a weeks break. He was burned very badly, and they hoped it could heal some in that week period, before he could continue.
It did very little. For 3 months, Bobby could not talk, eat, drink nor swallow anything. Many sores had developed inside his mouth and seems no matter what we did or what the Dr.'s perscribed, nothing would help. Of course if not for the perscription mouth rinse and the solution I made each day, it would have been worse. Each morning I mixed salt, water and baking soda in a jar for him to rinse his mouth out several times during the day. Radiation had become a nightmare. As his wife and the one who loved him dearly, I was determined to do all I could. He was given a perscription drink called Two_Cal. This is simular to Boost and Ensure. I inserted 3 cans a day of Two-Cal daily, along with blending meals.
The types of food I blended were of high in calories, protein and fat. Also I would blend his vitamins with it. Fresh squeezed orange juice was given, providing it came from a source where NO pesticides had been used. For Christmas, I would not let him go without his special dinner. The feast was blended, including the fudge, and inserted into his feeding tube. He would say at least he could still belch, where he could get a taste of things. As you can see he didn't lose his sense of humor. For 3 months I did this and in this period of time, he did not lose any weight and stayed as healthy as possible. It is of most importance to stay as healthy as you possible can during treatments, although I no for many this is difficult.
The feeding tube is not the most pleasent experience one could have or want, but it helped to save Bobby's life and keep him at a healthy level and for that we are grateful he had it. Radiation ended on January 19, 2000. How happy and excited we were this chapter was over.
Such mixed feelings I held at this time. I had held up very well during this crisis, but at this time is when I broke down and got deeply depressed. I was also saddened by a death of a close friends' ( Karen ) Father. Karen's Father had the same cancer as Bobby, and he was not to make it. My heart was deeply lifted with Joy for us, but for Karen and her Family, I had a hard time excepting what seemed so unfair. It took nearly 4 months before Bobby could see the Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist, ( ENT ) to discover if he was in remission or not. The healing from the radiation took this long, and still was a little raw and tender. Dr. Broussard performed the Bronchoscopy and determined he WAS indeed in remission. This was May 8, 2000.
The word remission was like hearing a beautiful gospel song, written by the angels themselves. Actually, tha radiation Oncologist claims Bobby was declared in remission from the time of his last radiation treatment on Jan. 19. But according to the ENT Dr., he considers it to be May 8. Every 3 months Bobby gets a bronchoscopy administered and every 3 months now, we still hear that beautiful word, remission. Although this is far from over, the worse, as we pray and hope , has passed. The long term effects of cancer treatments can be rough. Bobby has a slightly difficult time always remembering quite as well. Due to the radiation, he no longer has all the functioning of his salava glands, which leaves a dry mouth and certain foods can not be as easily swallowed as before.
The radiation also destroyed the functioning of the thyroid glands which produces important hormones we need for our body. He will forever take a replacement drug to restore the hormone that will always be lost. Although his weight stayed about the same, he now can not gain any at all, no matter how much he eats. Although he is feeling very well, the energy level is not quite the same.
Now it is August 2001. For approximately 1 & 1/2 years he is still in remission, and
doing well. He has gone back to work full time and had also returned to his racing compeitition for a while. He did not only remain the fastest in our city, he broke his own record when he returned. What a wonderful feeling that was for him. He did retire
recently from racing, but the joy of proving he could do it again was all worth it. He continues to have effects from the treatments and will probably remain with him forever
|
|
Life is restored, Life goes on, Life is a Blessing and Life continues......
|
|
For this we are grateful to Jehovah God & our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen! Also a very special thanks to all the medical staff that had the knowledge and compassion to fight with us. Through this crisis we were forced to endure, there were a group of friends I have to mention that were there each night for me to help me keep my perspective and my emotional being in tack. This group are my special angels given to me by God are in Yahoo Cancer Chat and the Cancer Clubs. I adore and love you all and hope I can give back much of what you all gave to me. God Bless You All!!
To all who cross the path the Monster named cancer, asssure you, there can be life before, during and after he attacks. Remember, HOPE, FAITH, PRAYERS, COMFORT, ENCOURAGEMENT and LOVE are all powerful tools. I pray we all recieve all the above during this critical time of need for those who may suffer, until he/she has beaten it also.
|
|
|
|
Life is a wonderful blessing. Take the time to stare at the stars, glare with facsination at a flower in bloom, watch a butterfly, hug a child, help a fellow neighbor in need, smile at loved ones, etc...... LIVE !!