The Good Fight

I was reading over some notes I made a year ago when Mark was in the diagnostic phase throughout the summer of 2006. Initially, he was told that he probably had lymphoma which was upsetting news, however, there is a very high cure rate. When the diagnostic process was complete in September of 2006, we were DISAPPOINTED to learn that he didn't have lymphoma but stage 4 squamous cell cancer that had metastasized to to his right lung. Then, Gary got diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in April of 2007 and we didn't panic as we may have a year before because we had learned so much about the high cure rate of lymphoma the summer before when we thought that was what Mark had. Then, last week, Mark and I were very depressed with his deteriorating condition because we thought the cancer had spread and the future seemed dismal. When we learned that he had pneumonia earlier this week, we were EUPHORIC because that accounted for all the terrible symptoms that we thought were signs of cancer invading his body! When I ask Gary how he is doing after chemo treatments, I am pleased to hear that he just feels tired. I'm so grateful that he has never gotten nauseus from treatments! If you had told me two years ago that my husband and son would have cancer at the same time, I'd be visiting my son at chemo treatments on the way to visit Mark, in the hospital with pneumonia, I would have thought "No way! I'm checking into the closest mental asylum!" And, yet here I sit, perfectly happy, looking at my computer screen for hours gazing at slideshow pictures of Mike and Steph's wedding! We are all more resilient than we give ourselves credit for when we're actually put to the test! Of course, massive doses of prozac does help!
Mark was in the hospital for two nights and the man I dropped off was a different man than I brought home this afternoon! After 24 hours on antibiotics, steroids, muscle relaxers and nebulizer treatments, he was completely transformed into a healthy guy who just happens to have cancer. After 48 hours in the hospital, he was more than eager to be discharged and although his x-ray wasn't completely clear, the doctors felt that his condition had improved enough to go home.
So, he is home, feeling better than he has been in weeks and planning to attend the Hospice Auction tomorrow night and just take it easy sitting at a table rather than getting into the silent auction frenzy! He will visit the oncologist Monday to talk about future treatments and visit the pulmonary specialist after another x-ray in a few weeks. After three emergency hospitalizations and a wedding in the past month, we are anxious to relax and return to our dull lives of visiting doctors every few days for regularly scheduled appointments and keeping the pharmacy at CVS in business!
I'll write again next week when we find out where we are headed from here!