More bad news

After a hi-res CT scan last night and a meeting with a surgeon today, my dad has told me that he also has multiple tumors in his liver, and that there is no surgical option. He will have a minor procedure tomorrow morning to get a biopsy and to place a stent to open up a duct that is being blocked by the tumor. Hopefully this will improve his liver function, and make him better able to withstand Chemo, that they are talking about starting next week.

Chemo is a palliative measure at this point. It may prolong his life and give him a better quality of life for longer, but it is unlikely to cure him. We can hope.

Bad news

This past Wednesday I learned that my father has a 4cm mass in or on the head of his pancreas. This was discovered while he was on a business trip to Norway. The good news is that he lives near MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston, one of the best in world. The bad news is that pancreatic cancer patients have a less than 5% chance of living past 5 years, even under optimum conditions. In worse cases, the prognosis can be a little over 4 months. My father may not live to see Christmas.

Keith Anderson