Update

First of all, thank you SO much for all of the support we have received from all of you!  Trevor and I are truly overwhelmed with gratitude: We had no idea people liked us this much!  (Especially Trevor because sometimes he's a bit of a pill.)

Since I last wrote, T has been to a couple of appointments at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) with some great doctors.  We met with a surgical oncologist who put his cancer at a stage 3 and gave us some options.  She said she could either do surgery first and then chemo/radiation after or a round of chemo/radiation, surgery, and another round of chemo/radiation.  The next day, T was lucky enough to score an appointment with a medical oncologist at NMH with the same opinions as the surgeon.  The two doctors planned to present T's case at the next tumor conference next week to see what their colleagues think as well.  Doctors who seek opinions of others and voluntarily share information and experiences?  Ah-MAY-zing as we tend not to see that too often around here.  In the meantime, T is having another colonoscopy, another CT scan, and an MRI.  I love that both doctors were very positive and ready to get going on whatever needs to happen.  The waiting and inactivity are driving me CRAZY because I need to do something or I'm not making the situation any better, you know?  (By the way, who else is picturing a tumor conference as a bunch of tumors sitting around a conference table with their Androids and iPhones?  My friend Kristin says the tumors will all attack the free food at happy hour then ask where the nearest Hooters is.  Classic!)

Apparently there are pros and cons to each option, and the docs are going to weigh those during the conference.  I felt like the first doc was very genuine in her opinion that either option would be viable and they would make what they felt was the best decision in this individual case.  That's exactly why I have forbidden T to look up any statistics and studies about stage 3 colorectal cancer: each case is specific to an individual just like his case is only about his cancer and his treatment.  I threatened to cut the cable line so he wouldn't have access to the Internet. but when he shuts himself up in his office to work, I have no idea what he's looking at.  Coincidentally, we did lose Internet service for a couple of days last weekend, so score for T not being able to torture himself with random numbers!!

I wasn't able to meet the second doc because I was receiving my Radioactive Iodine (RAI) treatment that morning.  My dad went with T as a second set of ears, and I'm pretty sure we passed each other in the NMH parking garage as I was leaving and they were arriving.  I have been in Isolation 2: The Revenge from Wednesday when I got home at 12:30 PM until this coming Thursday.  I'm on day two, and I feel like I want to scream.  I miss my kids, I miss my husband, I miss the rest of my family, and I miss my friends.  I mean, FaceTime, texting, email, and the phone all are fine, but there is nothing like real contact with the people I love.  But I'm keeping my eye on the prize of getting healthy without
harming anyone else.

So, we have seen some forward motion, and I think that has been a great help to us both.  We have no idea what the new few weeks or months will bring.  Of course, no one really knows that, do they?  But we do know we have each other, and that's all that  matters.

Thank you again for all the emails, calls, and texts.  We treasure all of your thoughts!