The Purple Jacket

Now that the PET scan has been completed, all we can now do is wait. While hope springs eternal; waiting can foster anxiety.

We choose to throw anxiety out the window and live our life to the fullest. Life presents us with opportunities and obstacles. Those who succeed are ones you take obstacles and turn them into opportunities… opportunities for growth, opportunities for commitment and most importantly, opportunities for love.

Cancer is not an obstacle; Cancer is an opportunity to love… an opportunity for growth and an opportunity for a renewed commitment.

By the way, who tied those crooked bow ties?

The worst part about waiting…is well…waiting! We received word from the doctor today that the PET scan will be on Tuesday morning. Our friend Tom will drive Richard to the test. Since this is a new experience for us, I did a little research on the procedure that I would like to share with you

PET/CT Scans and Cancer

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) imaging have become essential diagnostic tools physicians use to reveal the presence and severity of cancers. PET/CT imaging helps physicians detect cancer, evaluate the extent of disease, select the most appropriate treatments, determine if the therapy is working, and detect any recurrent tumors.

Before a PET/CT scan, the patient receives an intravenous injection of radioactive glucose. Many cancer cells are highly metabolic and rapidly synthesize the radioactive glucose. Information regarding the location of abnormal levels of radioactive glucose obtained from the whole-body PET/CT scan helps physicians effectively pinpoint the source of cancer and detect whether cancer is isolated to one specific area or has spread to other organs.

From this information physicians can plan an effective treatment strategy. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, systemic therapy, or a combination therapy where one or more of these options are combined.

During the course of treatment, the information from the PET/CT scan allows physicians to monitor the effectiveness of cancer therapies and provides physicians with the opportunity to change the treatment strategy if it is not working, avoiding the cost and discomfort of ineffective therapeutic procedures.

After completing the treatment regimen, a follow-up whole-body PET/CT scan can provide information to assess if the treatment was successful and if areas that were previously abnormally metabolically active have responded. Often, scar tissue at the site of surgical resection or radiation treatment may appear as an abnormality on the CT scan. The PET portion of the PET/CT scan can detect residual disease within the scar tissue and indicate if the treatment was successful or if the tumor has returned.

PET/CT scans provide information to help physicians:

Locate the site of the cancer
Determine the size of the tumor
Differentiate benign from malignant growths
Discover if the cancer has spread
Select treatments that are likely to be appropriate
Monitor the success of therapy
Detect any recurrent tumors

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Cancer: When the diagnosis comes in, there is disbelief, anger and fear. Yet we tackle this diagnosis with love, dignity and respect. Just as cancer has no boundaries; the same can be said for love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1corinthians 13:4)

Love…just happens!

So my good friends, ‘The Little-One’ has been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. We are in the mist of developing a treatment plan with the oncologist while awaiting a PET Scan which should take place next week.

What lies ahead of us is unknown; we can only understand today and cherish yesterday. As the news of this insidious disease settles in, I am mindful of the Five Wishes

• Who you want to make health care decisions for you when you can’t make them.
• The kind of medical treatment you want or don’t want.
• How comfortable you want to be.
• How you want people to treat you.
• What you want your loved ones to know.

Following these five ‘simple’ wishes certainly brings us to a calm peace of mind.

As we move forward with this new chapter in our lives, we have decided to share this journey with you. Our hope is to share our love with you with the understanding that caring for a loved one is an honor, not a duty; caring for a loved one is a pleasure; not a chore. These are all the ‘simple’ things we do when we love.

Love truly has NO boundaries

St. Patrick’s Day will always have a special place in my heart since it was the birthday of my close friend Richard Orlando.  If he were alive today, he would be celebrating his 88^th birthday; boy…did this Italian hate having his birthday on St. Patrick’s Day …the more St. Patrick’s Day Birthday Cards he got, the more he complained…It was always in good fun.

I share these photos with you today signify what I feel life is all about.  The first picture at the Minolta Tower in Niagara Falls New York was taken in 1988, the first year that we met.  The last picture in the group was  taken in the fall of 2005 just four months before his passing into eternal life.   These two photo’s signify the beginning and the end with quite a number of good memories in-between.

During our 18 years of friendship, we traveled, we argued, we had fun, we had many serious conversations, yet somehow we made a friendship work that spanned different cities, different professions, and different generations.

Photo’s say quite a bit…without uttering a word!    17 years apart between these pictures, we see a change in looks, we see a change in health; yet we see two people who cared for each other in good times and in bad.   The person in the wheelchair was no different from the person standing next to me at the Minolta Tower.

Life is a transition…not a transaction.  It is an honor to be a care giver.

So when I think of St. Patrick’s Day, I think of the Italian who has moved on to greener pastures, missing  him as I still do, yet proud and honored to be a part of his happy transition.   Ego Amo Ti

All my best!

Chris

Chris@thepurplejacket