This past Saturday morning, my Dad had severe abdominal pains, and whenever he tried to urinate, it was quite painful and there was blood in the urine. He was sent to the hospital, and scans found that one of his kidneys has a cancerous lump the size of a fist in it. His urinary troubles were caused by a blood clot that had come loose, and after several attempts to flush it out at home he went back into the hospital, where it was successfully flushed out.
The cancer is apparently at least at Stage 2; however, the scans also picked up a spot on one of his lungs. This isn't actually an uncommon occurrence where I live due to allergies (and so it may be simply unrelated), but it's also possible that the cancer may have metastasized there, indicating it's at Stage 3. We're hoping it's the former, but we won't know for sure until we get back and subsequent test results related to it.
This came as quite a shock to all of us (Dad most especially), even more so since this mess started only a few days before his 58th birthday.
However, since (as mentioned) the cancer doesn't seem to be terminal, there's still plenty of hope for him. The current plan is to have the affected kidney removed within a week or so (give or take, depending on any subsequent changes in his condition); depending on the state of the cancer, it may be possible that he'll be completely done with it after the operation and thus might not have to have any subsequent treatments done (knock on wood!).
Of course, Dad is a hard-driven man, which is how he's become quite successful (he currently runs his own financial planning business); given this, it's rather fortunate that his work has been in a slow period that is likely to continue for some time, as he'll basically be forced to not move much for the next several weeks.
We've been trying to convince him (quite well, thankfully) that he can make it, as some people have survived worse cancers, and he--we--can make it too.
I ask of you to keep him in your thoughts. If you're of a religious persuasion, please say a prayer for him. And regardless of your religious/non-religious leanings, please offer some kind messages for him. I intend to post this not only here, but also several other forums of which I am a member, and I also want to show him these threads so as to let him know that, if even complete strangers (to him, anyway) can offer moral support, then he can certainly make it.
Thank you all.
The cancer is apparently at least at Stage 2; however, the scans also picked up a spot on one of his lungs. This isn't actually an uncommon occurrence where I live due to allergies (and so it may be simply unrelated), but it's also possible that the cancer may have metastasized there, indicating it's at Stage 3. We're hoping it's the former, but we won't know for sure until we get back and subsequent test results related to it.
This came as quite a shock to all of us (Dad most especially), even more so since this mess started only a few days before his 58th birthday.
However, since (as mentioned) the cancer doesn't seem to be terminal, there's still plenty of hope for him. The current plan is to have the affected kidney removed within a week or so (give or take, depending on any subsequent changes in his condition); depending on the state of the cancer, it may be possible that he'll be completely done with it after the operation and thus might not have to have any subsequent treatments done (knock on wood!).
Of course, Dad is a hard-driven man, which is how he's become quite successful (he currently runs his own financial planning business); given this, it's rather fortunate that his work has been in a slow period that is likely to continue for some time, as he'll basically be forced to not move much for the next several weeks.
We've been trying to convince him (quite well, thankfully) that he can make it, as some people have survived worse cancers, and he--we--can make it too.
I ask of you to keep him in your thoughts. If you're of a religious persuasion, please say a prayer for him. And regardless of your religious/non-religious leanings, please offer some kind messages for him. I intend to post this not only here, but also several other forums of which I am a member, and I also want to show him these threads so as to let him know that, if even complete strangers (to him, anyway) can offer moral support, then he can certainly make it.
Thank you all.