Pardon?

“But doctor, you’re the one who, on three different occasions in the last eighteen months, told me I was knocking on death’s door.  What do you mean there’s no apparent cancer left?”

My apologies for the delay in this update, especially to those of you who were aware that we met with the oncologist on Tuesday, and have been waiting to hear.  It’s just that we’re still digesting the news (and, of course, working, driving boys to hockey, etc., etc.).

Apparently, the pathology report from this last surgery was good.  Really good.  So good that the oncologist said “this confirms for us that your cancer was not a true recurrence.  The pathology from your first liver surgery showed that there had been a bit left behind, but the surgeon was hoping that the fact that he had cauterized the margins would be enough to deal with that.”

And then he said he had asked for a second opinion, and he had talked to someone more senior than he, who agreed that there was no value to be had in offering more chemo, since there appeared to be no cancer to deal with, and the next thing we knew, we were booking an appointment for a three month checkup, and just like that, we were in the monitoring phase.  (To be fair, it’s the same phase we were in last May, but this time with a little more confidence.)

When we were alone in the room again, we just sat and looked at each other, and that’s when I uttered the “F” word.  I looked at my wife and said “Perhaps I can begin to think about the Future again.”

An extension to my expiry date?

This week, in a sermon on hope, I was reminded of Romans 5:3-5: “but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint”.  I’m not so sure I’ve done much glorying in my tribulations (I’m trying!), nor got much perseverance nor character, but I continue to have hope.

Today I finally got to meet with the surgeon who performed my most recent surgery.  It was a wonderful meeting!  He started by telling me how blown away he was with my recovery.  He was practically gushing.  He stopped short of calling it miraculous, but I guess I’m his star pupil this year.  :-)  In fact, he casually asked my secret.  I told him quite simply:  a lot of people were praying both for him and for me!  He admitted that in his line of work, death is a very real possibility with each patient.  He went on to read through the pathology report with us, and it all sounded like good news.  Whereas in the first liver surgery the pathology on the margins came back somewhat ambiguous (which is the most likely reason for the recurrence), this time it was more clear.  He was able to get the margins he wanted, and the testing from the edges all came back negative for cancer.  So, as far as he is concerned, there is no cancer in my liver.  Admittedly we’ve heard that before, but it was still great to hear.  It also seemed to be spoken with a little more confidence than the last time we heard it.  So, perhaps my expiry date has been extended a little bit. :-)

Of course, we see the oncologist in a week and a half, so I expect my world will come crashing down again during that visit, but for now, life is good!  God is good!