And Breathe

Ken and I enjoy driving to the office using country backroads. I took this photo last Friday, 

when I wasn't sure if he'd be returning to the office. (No worries, it's all safe and good - Marigan is driving...actually, if you've driven with Marigan you know it's neither safe nor good! 😉)

If you've ever had imaging done where you were required to hold your breath, you know how good it feels when they say, "And breathe." Until the next time you have to hold your breath, that is. 😒 This past week has had moments of breath-holding and moments of relief. We have felt the power of prayer and thank you for your support. 💗

I apologize for the radio silence; this week had been booked off for a vacation way back in December of 2023. Obviously, this was not the week we had anticipated! I plan to create another blog specifically for Ken, so this post will be short. 

If I had to leave a review for the past couple of weeks...

As I mentioned in the last blog post, Ken had an appointment with his surgeon, Dr. Erika Haase, on Tuesday. Donovan drove up from Calgary on Monday night so he could join us, something we really, really appreciated. As it turned out, I didn't require a (medicalese) translator after all! Apparently, the 7 pages of notes I'd created while reading countless medical articles were sufficient to allow me to follow the conversation. Phew! 

Ask me anything about appendiceal carcinoma, especially if it is Goblet Cell Adenocarcinoma, and there's a pretty good chance I'll know the answer or at least be able to convince you that I do. 😄

So, the good news is that she is willing to operate. There was always the possibility that she would decide the risks outweigh the benefits and pronounce Ken palliative. He is booked for March 17, which feels oh, so far away, but I know will be upon us before we have our ducks in a row. I'll share the details of what Ken can expect once I've researched it more. 😊 Thankfully, after reviewing his last CT scan, she could only find 5 spots of cancer spread, though she did warn us that what is on the scan and what she finds once she's opened up the patient is rarely the same. (We're not sure where the additional spots seen by the other surgeon went, but we hope the trend of disappearing cancer continues! 🙏)

This is the diagram she drew for us with the "spots" highlighted in yellow. 

The bad news is that she confirmed that his cancer is Goblet Cell Adenocarcinoma, an aggressive type of appendiceal carcinoma. What this means remains to be seen, as we'll know more once they've biopsied the tissue she removes. Below is an excerpt with more information than you need, but check out the odds... (If I knew how to purchase a lottery ticket, I'd be tempted to buy one! 😛)

Goblet cell adenocarcinomas (GCA) of the appendix are a subtype of appendiceal cancer. GCA are defined by a unique combination of two types of cancer cells – neuroendocrine (carcinoid) and epithelial (adenocarcinoma). These tumors are more aggressive than neuroendocrine tumors and are now treated and staged like appendiceal adenocarcinomas. They are extremely rare with an estimated incidence of 1 per 2 million individuals.

Source: https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/goblet-cell-carcinoid/