Dad and his cancer..

Lord, what an insidious beast, this cancer. Five weeks ago, it did not show up on any x-ray, CT scan or other tests. Then again, at that time the physicians were more focused on his atrial fibrillation which, when combined with thick blood, can throw off blood clots and kill you via a stroke.

Last Thursday, October 1st, they discovered that his right lung was collapsed. This revelation came after his admission to the emergency room for atrial fibrillation, hereafter known as "afib". From the intial x-ray, the primary physician stated that it didn't look like too much to worry about. By the end of the day, it seemed like a whole lot to worry about.

Since Pop was still in afib, they elected to keep him overnight and begin preparation for a Monday brochoscope, a procedure where they send a bronchoscope into the bronchial tube via the nostril (ponder that)and take a look, so to speak.

(Here's a curiosity, even with dad still in afib, the doctors ordered him pumped full of Vitamin K to thicken his blood (something you do not want while in afib) and sent him home with me Friday afternoon. Long story short, we were back in the ER Saturday night, and he's remained in the hospital since.)

The pulmonologist thought, "Well, we'll go in, find out what the obstruction is, remove it and the lung should re-inflate." I was hopeful, yet skeptical. And, as it turns out, I was right to hold that skepticism. It is cancer.

A confirmation of that fact took almost 24 hours and innumerable phone calls, but the diagnosis was there in living color, as we would soon find out.

In the next post, more detail about the cancer.