Happy Ukrainian Christmas!

Today we drove to Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto for a second opinion. The drive there and back was fine and we got through Toronto rush hour traffic this morning in plenty of time for our 9:30 appointment. We waited until almost noon before seeing the doctor (radiation oncologist), however he gave us plenty of time for discussion and we didn't feel rushed.

He didn't offer any new or different information and agreed with the chemo treatment Dave's getting and said they would use the same meds there. He gave us other things to think about during treatment, including quality of life. He basically said to avoid trying to 'pre-planning' the treatment. Each step should be thought out carefully and side effects should be considered. Every cancer is different and every patient is different, and although they don't like to give out false hope, they never say never.

He said we're welcome to come back again in the future if we like.

Although he didn't offer any more positive information, we were somewhat relieved that he didn't throw anything new or different at us that would require another decision or add more confusion. And it's reassuring that he agreed with pretty much what our doctors are saying.

One thing I've been finding encouraging is that we haven't noticed Dave getting worse since the original diagnosis 3 1/2 weeks ago. That first week the thoracic surgeon gave me the impression that Dave wouldn't be able to swallow his own saliva within about a week because of the tumor, and that a stent would need to be put in his esophagus ASAP so he could still swallow. (A stent is a mesh like tube they can put in the esophagus to keep it open.) This was obviously very distressing and overwhelming along with the cancer diagnosis. That doctor was erring on the side of caution and fortunately he seems to have been mistaken. :)
Right now Dave is still able to eat semi-solid foods (ie spaghetti, scrambled eggs...). He does have intermittent chest pain from both the tumor and from the suture anchor still stuck in his chest! (See December 30th's post regarding the feeding tube fiasco.) But overall he's feeling OK. This is the 2nd day of chemo and other than feeling tired, Dave hasn't really been feeling nauseous.

Today is our 26th anniversary, and the Ukrainian Christmas. (I'm 1/2 Ukrainian. I haven't gotten around to taking down the tree yet, and I tend to use this as an excuse to procrastinate!) We're currently enjoying a quiet evening in front of the fireplace, and our pretty but very dry Christmas tree. The snow outside is fresh & and serene. Today, all is good.

Val