Amy's 'momentary trouble'

Well, were back from Madison and have been for about an hour and a half. The news is still sinking in. If you remember, the reason Amy had to go through the Chemo/Radiation treatments was to shrink the tumor away from the portal vein so the surgeon could proceed with the whipple surgery. Before treatment, the tumor was between 2.5 & 3cm. The treatments weren’t successful in shrinking the tumor away from the vein…the tumor didn’t shrink at all…in fact the tumor grew and is now about 3.5cm in diameter. Now, the doctor’s did say that the radiation is still affecting the tumor and will be for another 2 or 3 weeks and that the radiation may actually be causing the tumor to swell; similar to what bruised or inflamed skin does. They went on to say that the CT Scan didn’t show that the cancer had spread to other organs or lymph nodes, which is good. We do not have a specific date yet, but the surgeon wants to move forward with the surgery and will schedule it for 3 weeks away. He did say that the surgery would be longer and would be incur more risk because he will have to remove the portal vein and re-construct it using vein tissue from elsewhere on Amy’s body. Again, the reason for waiting three weeks is to let the radiation finish working and see if the swelling will subside. The oncologist did say that while the tumor didn’t shrink, there is evidence that a portion of the tumor is dead or at least not getting any blood. He showed us in the pictures of the scan where the tumor was and then pointed out a lighter grey area in the circle of the tumor, telling us that this is viable (alive) tissue. Then he pointed out a darker grey area and told us that this is ‘dead’ tissue. This appeared to be a good portion, but we couldn’t tell how deep either type of tissue was. The surgeon then told us there are two factors that would stop him from performing the surgery: 1 – If the cancer has spread or 2 – If the tumor is wrapped around an artery. He couldn’t tell from the CT Scan if the tumor is involved with the artery and even though the Scan didn’t show that the cancer has spread, they need to make sure. So, as part of the scheduled surgery, they will perform a laparoscopy (laparoscopy is an instrument somewhat like a miniature telescope with a fiber optic system which brings light into the abdomen. It is about as big around as a fountain pen and twice as long. Tiny incisions are made and a laparoscope is inserted. This slim scope has a lighted end. It takes pictures - actually fiber optic images - and sends them to a monitor so the surgeon can see what is going on inside) to see if one of these two factors are present. If they are, the procedure will end and the surgery will not be performed. If they aren’t, he will proceed with the surgery as planned. Either way, she will face a longer, more potent regimen of Chemotherapy.

This is a nightmare and we’re dealing with this as best as we can. In all of this I know that God hasn’t changed, He is still the same, He is still all-powerful & He is still all-knowing. We hurt and cry out! But we still praise Him for who He is…

This is Amy's story as seen and told by me - V