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April 12, 2006
derm delight
so i went to a derm today who was a student of my moms
she removed 2 moles today (free), it was so neat!!! i had this gargantuan thing which felt like it was a mini 2nd head-let growing out of the right side of my neck and she took it off, YIPEE.
also, we are looking at a doggie who looks like she wants to be our friend, we are going to meet her on wednesday, so we will see how that goes.
my ring sparkles.
Posted by Maggie at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2006
Stage IV
Grandpa has stage IV adenocarcinoma. Stage IV = metastatic.
They expect him to live for a few more weeks.
He is entering into home hospice (he will probably return home Tuesday, and a caretaker agency will be there 24 hours a day).
I expect he will die shortly after Easter. Beth will be home, everyone in the family will be there, we are having easter at his home.
We also decided to stop his coumadin (or koonemin as he and Mike say) after easter. With his a fib and that he has a malignancy I am suspicious that he will have some thromboembolic event pretty quickly, be it a PE or a stroke. When he and I were talking this weekend about what we should do with his medications he asked if stopping the coumadin would "make it happen sooner" and I said that most likely it would, he may have a stroke or a blood clot in his lungs, and he said that was what he wanted. All of his "affairs" are already in order. I think he just wants to have one last nice family holiday then he is ready.
He misses my grandma so much.
I just cannot believe that I am going to lose both of my grandpas while in medical school.
He won't be at my graduation, he won't be at my wedding, despite the fact that those are like 7 weeks away. And he probably won't be around for my birthday.
The oncologist offered him some form of pill chemo, grandpa decided against it, which I think was smart. He really liked the oncologist because as he was walking out the room he turned around and came back, shook grandpas hand, and said "I think you made the right choice Mr. ___"
On a totally different note, Neal and I found a new apartment, it is awesome! 1700 square feet, giant walk in closets. I am excited.
Posted by Maggie at 3:42 PM | Comments (1)
April 6, 2006
cancer day
today my grandpa (my only living grandparent) was diagnosed with primary lung cancer. this is not a surprise given he smoked like 3 packs a day for 50 years (but quit 15 years ago) and that he was exposed to asbestos and silica dust on the railroad for many years.
what IS surprising that is that it seems to be widely metastatic within his chest, with masses in every lobe of his lungs, on both sides (from talking to the pulmonologist today).
i dont know if he would want treatment, but that seems irrelevant as he is not a candidate for surgery or chemo given his health and that radiation wont work since it is diffuse.
also, my aunt went to the urologist today after having repeated bouts of gross hematuria over the last few months, and she is now being worked up for bladder cancer.
this fucking sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Maggie at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)