He's sick, he's not supposed to be sick yet. The medicine isn't working very well. 30 min after radiation, he feels sick. "Welcome to being pregnant dear." LOL but that is my only way to keep me from breaking, is laughing. Sometimes I see this look on his face where he feels like he's going to be sick...how I wish I could remove it.
A couple of days before his radiation started his mother had a heart attack and was in the hospital. I felt like I was going in 20 different directions. If I wasn't at Duke, I was at Cape Fear, if I wasn't at Cape Fear I was working, if I wasn't working I was changing a diaper or getting dinner on the table.
This was the first week of therapy and I'm thinking...I'm not going to make it.
But by Wednesday my Mother in law is home from the hospital, and Tony is getting used to the nausea.
Friday, Brenda got us another nausea prescription so he wouldn't feel sick. They don't want him to be uncomfortable...they want him feeling good. Wait its Friday...We got through the week...best part its Spring break and my parents are coming!! I will have some more help!! :)
That night, we got a very sad phone call from Frank...his daddy had passed away. See he too had a heart attack and had been in the hospital...his heart gave out :( My heart went out to Frank and his family...Tony wanted to be there for Frank, but with him being sick, he was pretty limited...it seems everyone is sick now a days. I have learned to have faith and faith will pull you through no matter what. It's what got and is getting me through all of this.
"Faith is not the belief that he can, but the knowledge that he will." (Mona)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Genetics - HDGC
HDG WHAT??? Hereditary Defused Gastric Cancer...Read more about it here http://cancer.stanford.edu/patient_care/services/geneticCounseling/HDGC.html
Ok so I hear all this and I'm thinking...No this can't be...not my kids too? Please God don't let this be the genetic kind, please let this just be a fluke that Tony doesn't have this gene...cause if he does and one of the boys have it...the only way to keep them from getting it is to remove their stomachs :(
Ok so I hear all this and I'm thinking...No this can't be...not my kids too? Please God don't let this be the genetic kind, please let this just be a fluke that Tony doesn't have this gene...cause if he does and one of the boys have it...the only way to keep them from getting it is to remove their stomachs :(
Post Op 3-26-12
4 weeks from surgery...and Tony is doing great. "I feel great." Tony said, "I'm eating, sometimes the food gets stuck, but other than that so far so good."
The doctor had a smile on his face. He was thrilled to see how well Tony was doing. I asked him about where the cancer would come back to if it would come back and also some other questions. How much can he lift? How about swimming with his J-Tube? How often will he have endoscopy's moving forward? No swimming, but he can pick up Ashton now :) A HUGE PLUS FOR ME!!! And as far as endoscopy's go, that decision will be made once he completes all his chemo and radiation.
All in all the appointment went great and Tony was officially cleared to start his therapies. :)
The doctor had a smile on his face. He was thrilled to see how well Tony was doing. I asked him about where the cancer would come back to if it would come back and also some other questions. How much can he lift? How about swimming with his J-Tube? How often will he have endoscopy's moving forward? No swimming, but he can pick up Ashton now :) A HUGE PLUS FOR ME!!! And as far as endoscopy's go, that decision will be made once he completes all his chemo and radiation.
All in all the appointment went great and Tony was officially cleared to start his therapies. :)
What's The Plan Doc? 3-19-12
"Your CT looks great!!"
"SERIOUSLY?"
"We don't see any cancer on any of your organs. The surgical pathology report said a bit of microscopic cells were left over at the connection site, but we can't see them on the CT."
This was the best news I had heard in a looooong time. :) So what's the plan? What next?
Chemo/radiation therapy...25 rounds of it. 25 ROUNDS?!?!?!? Say again???
"Monday through Friday for 5 weeks you will take your chemo pills at home and have your radiation done here." the doctor said.
OH BOY...lots of driving, but my baby deserves the best and Duke is the best.
Once that is done, its 3 rounds of IV chemo...that is the one that will make his hair fall out. Hair shmair, it will grow back...just get rid of the cancer!!
Come to find out they got this treatment plan from Japan where stomach cancer is more common. They have had pretty good results with this treatment.
"Too easy, when do we start." Tony says just as he did when they told him they were taking his stomach out.
Well, we started 2 weeks later...a week after post op.
My heart started racing, I had one more really hard question to ask. I wasn't sure how to ask, but I really wanted to know..."OK I have one more really hard question." I said, then turned to Tony and apologized for what I was about to say.
"Did we catch it in time? When will we know?"
"We got his stomach out. So yes. If we weren't able to remove his stomach we would be having a different conversation. When will we know? We will know in 20 years." The doctor replied
"Great...I'll take another 20 years :)" I said with a big smile on my face.
She went on to tell us our goal is to kill any cancel cells left in his body so it won't attach itself to any organs. She explained how they would monitor him with CTs every 3 months and he would get endoscopy's every 6-12 months. OK I can live with that :) But it wasn't me that would be going through the treatment physically...it was Tony. I just selfishly don't want to be alone or him to anywhere.
Again Tony replies, "Too easy." Which always makes me smile.
Then it was off to meet our chemo oncologist. He assured us this was the best way to go and that Tony is young enough to get through the treatment...and THAT is what is important. So my new mission, I don't care how bad it gets, I would drag him by his hair if I needed to...and he of course asked me to ensure he finishes it. :)
So we have a plan, I know where to next and I feel good. Right now I am smiling and cancer is going to LOSE!!!!
"SERIOUSLY?"
"We don't see any cancer on any of your organs. The surgical pathology report said a bit of microscopic cells were left over at the connection site, but we can't see them on the CT."
This was the best news I had heard in a looooong time. :) So what's the plan? What next?
Chemo/radiation therapy...25 rounds of it. 25 ROUNDS?!?!?!? Say again???
"Monday through Friday for 5 weeks you will take your chemo pills at home and have your radiation done here." the doctor said.
OH BOY...lots of driving, but my baby deserves the best and Duke is the best.
Once that is done, its 3 rounds of IV chemo...that is the one that will make his hair fall out. Hair shmair, it will grow back...just get rid of the cancer!!
Come to find out they got this treatment plan from Japan where stomach cancer is more common. They have had pretty good results with this treatment.
"Too easy, when do we start." Tony says just as he did when they told him they were taking his stomach out.
Well, we started 2 weeks later...a week after post op.
My heart started racing, I had one more really hard question to ask. I wasn't sure how to ask, but I really wanted to know..."OK I have one more really hard question." I said, then turned to Tony and apologized for what I was about to say.
"Did we catch it in time? When will we know?"
"We got his stomach out. So yes. If we weren't able to remove his stomach we would be having a different conversation. When will we know? We will know in 20 years." The doctor replied
"Great...I'll take another 20 years :)" I said with a big smile on my face.
She went on to tell us our goal is to kill any cancel cells left in his body so it won't attach itself to any organs. She explained how they would monitor him with CTs every 3 months and he would get endoscopy's every 6-12 months. OK I can live with that :) But it wasn't me that would be going through the treatment physically...it was Tony. I just selfishly don't want to be alone or him to anywhere.
Again Tony replies, "Too easy." Which always makes me smile.
Then it was off to meet our chemo oncologist. He assured us this was the best way to go and that Tony is young enough to get through the treatment...and THAT is what is important. So my new mission, I don't care how bad it gets, I would drag him by his hair if I needed to...and he of course asked me to ensure he finishes it. :)
So we have a plan, I know where to next and I feel good. Right now I am smiling and cancer is going to LOSE!!!!
Patient Advocate 3-14-12
So the day of Tony's CT, I started to stomp my feet again at Duke. Why haven't I heard from oncology. I am NOT going to wait until post op to have these appointments that will take 2 weeks. I want to meet with them NOW DARNIT!! I wasn't sure what to do next except complain and threaten to go to another hospital until I heard from someone.
It must have been a blessing. On the way back from Duke we got a wonderful phone call from Brenda, our patient advocate. She was sooo nice and sweet and answered ALLL of my questions. She let me talk and express my anxiety with cancer. She listened to my talk about losing Mike (my brother who died of lung cancer at the age of 30, 2 years ago) and how I couldn't lose Tony. I told her how I wasn't sure where we were supposed to go after surgery regarding oncology, and I wanted everything to be ready to go with chemo, radiation, whatever needed to happen once he was cleared from surgery in 2 weeks.
The VERY NEXT DAY (Wednesday)...she called me with 2 oncology appointments for that Monday. One with radiation and one with chemo. I was happier than two pigs in $H!%. LOL Finally I was going to get all the answers to my questions... :)
It must have been a blessing. On the way back from Duke we got a wonderful phone call from Brenda, our patient advocate. She was sooo nice and sweet and answered ALLL of my questions. She let me talk and express my anxiety with cancer. She listened to my talk about losing Mike (my brother who died of lung cancer at the age of 30, 2 years ago) and how I couldn't lose Tony. I told her how I wasn't sure where we were supposed to go after surgery regarding oncology, and I wanted everything to be ready to go with chemo, radiation, whatever needed to happen once he was cleared from surgery in 2 weeks.
The VERY NEXT DAY (Wednesday)...she called me with 2 oncology appointments for that Monday. One with radiation and one with chemo. I was happier than two pigs in $H!%. LOL Finally I was going to get all the answers to my questions... :)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Welcome Home
Wow, home sweet home...or was it? Oh how nice was it to come home, our own bed, our own things...a shower!!! April (Tony's boss) was there with her family putting away groceries. WOW One less thing I have to worry about. :)
It was so nice to be home...but Tony couldn't pick up Ashton, who greeted him with a big hello, and didn't understand why!! Tony was tired and just wanted to lay in his bed. It was time to unload the truck, start some laundry, and set up Tony's tube feed machine. Everything they taught me in the hospital, I now had to do on my own. Shots, flushing his tube every 4 hours, reminding him to drink fluids...but not too fast, hook him up on his feeding tube and keep the little ones away...ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Yikes!! I don't think anyone prepares you for that.
Just as I got Tony all settled in bed, there was a knock at the door. Terri brought dinner...YUM!! How kind of her. :) April with groceries, Terri with dinner...careful, I could get used to this. All of our friends and family were so wonderful.
My sister had done such a great job with the kids, I had to get them back in their routine and out of being spoiled LOL I got my house in order, but now it was time to explain to the kids how important it was for daddy to rest and not lift anything, how he needed to rest, and ask for a little big more help around the house and with the kids. As it says in the Bible...and on the 7th day he rested...yeah she rested...ME.
It was so nice to be home...but Tony couldn't pick up Ashton, who greeted him with a big hello, and didn't understand why!! Tony was tired and just wanted to lay in his bed. It was time to unload the truck, start some laundry, and set up Tony's tube feed machine. Everything they taught me in the hospital, I now had to do on my own. Shots, flushing his tube every 4 hours, reminding him to drink fluids...but not too fast, hook him up on his feeding tube and keep the little ones away...ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Yikes!! I don't think anyone prepares you for that.
Just as I got Tony all settled in bed, there was a knock at the door. Terri brought dinner...YUM!! How kind of her. :) April with groceries, Terri with dinner...careful, I could get used to this. All of our friends and family were so wonderful.
My sister had done such a great job with the kids, I had to get them back in their routine and out of being spoiled LOL I got my house in order, but now it was time to explain to the kids how important it was for daddy to rest and not lift anything, how he needed to rest, and ask for a little big more help around the house and with the kids. As it says in the Bible...and on the 7th day he rested...yeah she rested...ME.
Friday, April 6, 2012
9 Days At Duke
The next 9 days were long. Tony was tired, in pain, but strong. The pain meds made him sleep..A LOT, it was like he hadn't slept in years. The boys and my mother in law came to see him Friday night and Saturday and Sunday. You could tell Tony was in pain and the boys weren't sure what to say. Tony was good at breaking the ice and getting them to lighten up a bit. Our nurses were great!! I got to stay in the hospital with Tony, and refused to leave his side. Cindy and the boys went home Sunday around noon.
Saturday his best friend Frank came to see him. That made Tony happy. Every day Tony got better and stronger.
Sunday Lets take a walk :) Tony started doing laps around the floor. Also, his boss, boss's boss, and office manager came to see him. That was BIG for Tony. You don't hear about companies caring for their employees to the point where they will come and visit them in the hospital!! But April, Curt, and Paul are special people...they are more than just bosses, they are friends.
Monday...TAKE THE CATH OUT!!! Poor Tony had a catheter that was driving him crazy. Luckily he had it removed on Monday. He finally got a shower.
Tuesday we got to see our babies!!! Jaime brought Aydin and Ashton up to see us. I explained to Aydin about daddy's boo boo. How he needed to be gentle. Aydin did very well seeing Tony, however it was really hard on Tony. That was his little buddy. Seeing Aydin brought tears to Tony's eyes. But we were so happy that we had a chance to visit :)
Wednesday Tony got to start sipping clear fluids :) He also received a special call from the Executive VP of his company. He even chatted with me. "Anything NCI can do, you let me know!!" How super sweet of him AND the company.
Thursday We go the pathology report from surgery. There was still some cancer at the connection site. Where the esophagus and small intestine met. It had also spread to his lymph nodes. :*(
WHY GOD WHY??? ITS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"I am not leaving this hospital until I speak to an oncologist!!!" I demanded
Just then there was a knock at the door. It was my sister with 2 caramel machiattos from Starbucks...MY FAVORITE!! :) She came!!! I didn't even ask her to but she did. Some other friends of ours stopped by too and they prayed with us.
Friday, MY MOM CAME!!! Appointments were made, doctors answered questions...we felt 100 times better. Time to fight this thing HEAD ON!!!
Saturday we came home. April (Tony's boss) and family went grocery shopping for us!! :)
There is no place like home.
Saturday his best friend Frank came to see him. That made Tony happy. Every day Tony got better and stronger.
Sunday Lets take a walk :) Tony started doing laps around the floor. Also, his boss, boss's boss, and office manager came to see him. That was BIG for Tony. You don't hear about companies caring for their employees to the point where they will come and visit them in the hospital!! But April, Curt, and Paul are special people...they are more than just bosses, they are friends.
Monday...TAKE THE CATH OUT!!! Poor Tony had a catheter that was driving him crazy. Luckily he had it removed on Monday. He finally got a shower.
Tuesday we got to see our babies!!! Jaime brought Aydin and Ashton up to see us. I explained to Aydin about daddy's boo boo. How he needed to be gentle. Aydin did very well seeing Tony, however it was really hard on Tony. That was his little buddy. Seeing Aydin brought tears to Tony's eyes. But we were so happy that we had a chance to visit :)
Wednesday Tony got to start sipping clear fluids :) He also received a special call from the Executive VP of his company. He even chatted with me. "Anything NCI can do, you let me know!!" How super sweet of him AND the company.
Thursday We go the pathology report from surgery. There was still some cancer at the connection site. Where the esophagus and small intestine met. It had also spread to his lymph nodes. :*(
WHY GOD WHY??? ITS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"I am not leaving this hospital until I speak to an oncologist!!!" I demanded
Just then there was a knock at the door. It was my sister with 2 caramel machiattos from Starbucks...MY FAVORITE!! :) She came!!! I didn't even ask her to but she did. Some other friends of ours stopped by too and they prayed with us.
Friday, MY MOM CAME!!! Appointments were made, doctors answered questions...we felt 100 times better. Time to fight this thing HEAD ON!!!
Saturday we came home. April (Tony's boss) and family went grocery shopping for us!! :)
There is no place like home.
Longest Hour Of My Life 2-24-12 Day of Surgery
It was 0700, the morning of surgery. I saw Dr. Pappas walk out of the PACU and gave him a big thumbs up..."It's going to be a good day today!!" I said, and he smiled and said yes it is!
"REALLY REALLY OMG PROMISE?!?!??!....Can I hug you?" She stepped around her desk, gave me a hug and I cried some more. She called Thomasina (my wedding coordinator) so I could share the happy news. All the family in the waiting room was happy and hugging me. It was wonderful. I had never been so relieved. My baby was going to make it...we were going to beat this SOB!!
4 1/2 hours later...Dr. Perez comes to the waiting area. "We got it...we got it all!!!" Of course we still needed to wait a week on pathology, but as far as surgery went...IT WAS A SUCCESS. Ok so they had to remove part of his esophagus, so what...they got it all!!! They even did it laparoscopicly. You couldn't get me to stop happy crying at this moment.
Then I saw our wedding coordinator walking towards me. I wasn't sure who it was at first and then it hit me. I couldn't believe it, I wasn't alone anymore. I gave her the biggest hug and had the hardest cry. You know those cries where it seems no one is watching you, no one can hear you. The cry that comes from your belly through chest and out your mouth. It felt soooo good. I was blessed. God sent me another angel to help me. She took me back to see Tony before he went in.
Another surgeon came back to see us. Very straight forward, not the best bedside manor, but I didn't care, just save my husbands life. Him and Dr. Pappas would be working together along with like 50 interns, 100 residences, and 1000 nurses. LOL
"So I'm sure its been explained to you. This is some bad stuff you have. I want to be sure you understand that if it has spread outside the wall of your stomach, we are going to close you up."
"WHAT?!?!?! THAT ISN'T WHAT PAPPAS SAID!!! He said we were going to fight it nomatter what!!!" I blurted out as I stood up and stomped my foot.
"There is no reason for him to go through such an extensive surgery if it won't help matters." He explained.
"How far into the operation will you know if you are going to continue with the surgery or not?"
"About 30-45 min."
See the plan was to do it laparoscopicly. They would look throughout his abdomen to see if the cancer had spread to any organs and just overall to understand what they were dealing with. If his stomach was too hard, next they would try via incision. More abrasive, but it didn't matter; just get the darn thing out is all I cared out. KILL THE HOST!!! LOL Nevertheless, I would know an hour after surgery started if I was going to have the rest of my life with my husband, or just a few short months.At 0730 they came to take him back. I kissed him, and told him I loved him. I smiled, didn't shed a tear and said, "I'll be here when you wake up."
Surgery was going to be around 2-3 hours...but that first hour was key. I took my little pager Duke gave me for updates and walked out of the PACU.
At 0745 my mother in law showed up with Austin and Anthoney. My dear friend Terri was there. She was my shoulder and to help keep the kids and my mother in law occupied while I worried myself sick. We went to the cafeteria and I couldn't eat. I couldn't tell the kids or my mother in law what I had just been told. Some of the families in the waiting room knew my situation...we all become like family, but no sense in worrying my MIL or kids.
The pager went off at 0810, "They started surgery 10 min ago Mrs. Leonard."
"Thank you." I said. I looked at the clock, and the 30-45 min window started. I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't stop praying. No one knew why. Terri took the kids and my MIL to the hotel, and I returned to the waiting room.
At 0900 I still hadn't heard anything. I went up to the receptionist desk and explained my situation. The called back to the OR.
"Yes ma'am, I understand, I will let her know, Thank you." the receptionist said.
My heart was pounding, no expression on her face.
She looked up and me and smiled...they are continuing on with surgery!!! :)"REALLY REALLY OMG PROMISE?!?!??!....Can I hug you?" She stepped around her desk, gave me a hug and I cried some more. She called Thomasina (my wedding coordinator) so I could share the happy news. All the family in the waiting room was happy and hugging me. It was wonderful. I had never been so relieved. My baby was going to make it...we were going to beat this SOB!!
4 1/2 hours later...Dr. Perez comes to the waiting area. "We got it...we got it all!!!" Of course we still needed to wait a week on pathology, but as far as surgery went...IT WAS A SUCCESS. Ok so they had to remove part of his esophagus, so what...they got it all!!! They even did it laparoscopicly. You couldn't get me to stop happy crying at this moment.
I told my MIL and Terri and started making phone calls!!! It was our little ones 4th birthday, and now Daddy would be there for his 5th and many to follow!!! :)
GOD IS GOOD!!!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Story of the 8s
Ok so I'm a #'s person. I asked God for a sign and I got one :) The number 8
See our 4 year old's birthday is 2-24-08. 2+2+4=8, he was 8lbs, 8oz and born at 620 6+2+0=8
Surgery was 2-24 (yes Aydin's birthday) 2+2+4=8
Report time 0530 5+3+0=8
PreOp Room # 17 1+7=8
Operating Room #26 2+6=8
Surgery Start time 0800 8+0+0=8
PACU Room # 53 5+3=8
Hospital Room# 6118 6+1+1=8
I knew everything would be 8-OK ;)
See our 4 year old's birthday is 2-24-08. 2+2+4=8, he was 8lbs, 8oz and born at 620 6+2+0=8
Surgery was 2-24 (yes Aydin's birthday) 2+2+4=8
Report time 0530 5+3+0=8
PreOp Room # 17 1+7=8
Operating Room #26 2+6=8
Surgery Start time 0800 8+0+0=8
PACU Room # 53 5+3=8
Hospital Room# 6118 6+1+1=8
I knew everything would be 8-OK ;)
I Hit My Knees For The First Time in a loooooooooooooong Time 2-24-12
The night before surgery, I don't think I had ever begged God for something in my whole life. I don't think I had cried so much in 24 hours EVER.
The alarm went off at 4am. We had to be there at 530. Before we left I got on my knees and prayed. All I could think to say was PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't take him from me, don't take him from my kids, don't take him...not yet...not now. Its not his time...YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM YET. As each tear fell the better I felt. Time to wipe my eyes and put on a strong smile for Tony...it was time to head to teh hospital.
The alarm went off at 4am. We had to be there at 530. Before we left I got on my knees and prayed. All I could think to say was PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't take him from me, don't take him from my kids, don't take him...not yet...not now. Its not his time...YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM YET. As each tear fell the better I felt. Time to wipe my eyes and put on a strong smile for Tony...it was time to head to teh hospital.
Monday Feb 20, 2012
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got to Duke. Dr. Pappas was awesome. He answered all my questions before I asked.
"So how do we treat this? We remove the whole stomach. We connect your esophegus to your small intestine, remove the lymph nodes in the surrounding area, put in a JTube and go from there. You will eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3 large. Vitimin b12 shots for the rest of your life.."
"Too easy." Said Tony, as I'm still trying to swallow it all.
How soon shall we do this? No longer than 3 weeks.
When the doctor left, he wanted to view the Duke Pathology report to decide when in fact to do surgery. In walks his nurse. Ok looks like surgery is scheduled for this Friday. Pre-Op will be Thursday. Can you make it? As I scrape my chin off the floor...how am I going to get 5 kids squared away in 2 days?...we nodded our heads, sure, sounds good.
On the way home, I called my sister Jaime who lives in Fayetteville. "How much notice do you need to take off from work?" My sister was my angel that day. She was there Wednessday night, went home and stayed all 10 days we were gone. :)
"So how do we treat this? We remove the whole stomach. We connect your esophegus to your small intestine, remove the lymph nodes in the surrounding area, put in a JTube and go from there. You will eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3 large. Vitimin b12 shots for the rest of your life.."
"Too easy." Said Tony, as I'm still trying to swallow it all.
How soon shall we do this? No longer than 3 weeks.
When the doctor left, he wanted to view the Duke Pathology report to decide when in fact to do surgery. In walks his nurse. Ok looks like surgery is scheduled for this Friday. Pre-Op will be Thursday. Can you make it? As I scrape my chin off the floor...how am I going to get 5 kids squared away in 2 days?...we nodded our heads, sure, sounds good.
On the way home, I called my sister Jaime who lives in Fayetteville. "How much notice do you need to take off from work?" My sister was my angel that day. She was there Wednessday night, went home and stayed all 10 days we were gone. :)
How I Told My Extended Family 2/10/2012
Good Morning Family!!! :)
I hate that I am having to use Facebook to share this news, but sometimes its easier than making a dozen phone calls. Some of you already know, but we received some sad news over the weekend, which was 90% confirmed Monday, and 100% confirmed yesterday.
Tony was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He is handling the news as best as can be expected, however the boys are each handling it differently. Of course Aydin and Ashton have no idea, and we will keep it that way.
Tony was having some stomach issues which we thought was an ulcer. During his upper GI they took some biopsies which came back positive. As a result they did a second procedure for a second opinion on Monday, being that he had no symptoms. Tuesday they did a CT of his abdeman (sp) which thankfully could not detect any cancer. Thursday morning we got the second set of biopsy results which confirmed the cancer.
We belive we caught it very early being that his WBC is still normal and his symptoms are few. We have an appointment at Duke Medical which is #12 in the country for stomach cancer. His surgeon is Dr. Theodore Pappas who is one of if not the best GI surgeons out there. We will see him on 2/20/12 to get the official diagnosis. Stage, Treatment plan, etc.
Most likely he will have surgery and chemo. Surgery will be done either 2/24/12 (Aydin's 4th b-day) or 3/2/12. I will be in Raleigh the whole time he is in surgery and in the hospital recovering.
Now with tears in my eyes, I'm BEGGING you all to pray. Pray for Tony and PLEASE Pray for our kids. We already lost one person way too early, lets not lose another one. I will do my best to keep everyone posted.
I love you all very much, and though I may not talk to you each and every day, I do think about you all always. There is a crapy 2 year anniversary coming up and I know we are all thinking of Mike. I am sure you can all agree wtih me that CANCER SUCKS!!! God Bless!!!
Love,
Christy
I hate that I am having to use Facebook to share this news, but sometimes its easier than making a dozen phone calls. Some of you already know, but we received some sad news over the weekend, which was 90% confirmed Monday, and 100% confirmed yesterday.
Tony was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He is handling the news as best as can be expected, however the boys are each handling it differently. Of course Aydin and Ashton have no idea, and we will keep it that way.
Tony was having some stomach issues which we thought was an ulcer. During his upper GI they took some biopsies which came back positive. As a result they did a second procedure for a second opinion on Monday, being that he had no symptoms. Tuesday they did a CT of his abdeman (sp) which thankfully could not detect any cancer. Thursday morning we got the second set of biopsy results which confirmed the cancer.
We belive we caught it very early being that his WBC is still normal and his symptoms are few. We have an appointment at Duke Medical which is #12 in the country for stomach cancer. His surgeon is Dr. Theodore Pappas who is one of if not the best GI surgeons out there. We will see him on 2/20/12 to get the official diagnosis. Stage, Treatment plan, etc.
Most likely he will have surgery and chemo. Surgery will be done either 2/24/12 (Aydin's 4th b-day) or 3/2/12. I will be in Raleigh the whole time he is in surgery and in the hospital recovering.
Now with tears in my eyes, I'm BEGGING you all to pray. Pray for Tony and PLEASE Pray for our kids. We already lost one person way too early, lets not lose another one. I will do my best to keep everyone posted.
I love you all very much, and though I may not talk to you each and every day, I do think about you all always. There is a crapy 2 year anniversary coming up and I know we are all thinking of Mike. I am sure you can all agree wtih me that CANCER SUCKS!!! God Bless!!!
Love,
Christy
How Do We Tell His Mom...How Do We Tell Our Kids?
Cindy, sit down, we have something to tell you. Tony's eyes filled up with tears. Tony also barried his only brother just a little over 2 years ago. The results aren't good. I think she knew cause she said, cancer before we did. At that time we learned that her father died of stomach cancer...but he was 78...not 39.
She cried, and said she would pray. That we would beat it...NO MATTER what.
Anthoney (19) sweetie sit down. There is no easy way to say this. Daddy has cancer...tears, tears, and more tears.
Austin (11) Hey baby, come sit down for a second. Daddy's sick. Daddy has cancer...after no facial reaction, Austin, its ok to cry...and then he cried. We both cried. I sat there holding him and assured him we would get through it and Daddy would be ok.
Alec (15) The hardest one of them all. Tony told him that he was sick. How sick? I have cancer. I don't think Alec ever cried so hard in all his life. I don't think my heart had ever broken for a child like it did that day. Alec went up to his room and started calling his best friends. The people he would lean on the most during these next months.
Now it was time to tell the rest of the family and our friends...
She cried, and said she would pray. That we would beat it...NO MATTER what.
Anthoney (19) sweetie sit down. There is no easy way to say this. Daddy has cancer...tears, tears, and more tears.
Austin (11) Hey baby, come sit down for a second. Daddy's sick. Daddy has cancer...after no facial reaction, Austin, its ok to cry...and then he cried. We both cried. I sat there holding him and assured him we would get through it and Daddy would be ok.
Alec (15) The hardest one of them all. Tony told him that he was sick. How sick? I have cancer. I don't think Alec ever cried so hard in all his life. I don't think my heart had ever broken for a child like it did that day. Alec went up to his room and started calling his best friends. The people he would lean on the most during these next months.
Now it was time to tell the rest of the family and our friends...
Let The Tests Begin
The second Endoscopy was that Monday 2/6/12. That day they confirmed the leather stomach lining that we now know as HDGC, or Linitis Plastica. A rare aggressive cancer. That day we were referred to the one of the BEST (Top 1% in the country) surgeons at Duke. Our appointment was in 2 weeks.
Tuesday was the CT to see if it had spread.
Wednessday CT results. Thankfully it had not.
Thursday Second set of Pathology results...yup still cancer.
Now its time to tell the rest of the family...
Tuesday was the CT to see if it had spread.
Wednessday CT results. Thankfully it had not.
Thursday Second set of Pathology results...yup still cancer.
Now its time to tell the rest of the family...
The News 2/4/12
What do I wear? Do I wear makeup? Does it matter?... it will just run everywhere. The longest 5 min of my life waiting for the doc to come in.
"Explain your symptoms again Mr. Leonard?" said the doc
- When I eat it burns/slight nausea feeling
- Diarrhea
"But his symptoms went away when he changed his diet to chicken and fish..." I said.
"You're so young." Doc says.
Have you lost weight? No
Blood in your stool? No
Thrown up? No
Loss of appetite? No
Cancer in your family? - Not that I know of
Ok enough with the questions already what is it?
"You're so young."
"What results?" I asked
The doctor waits...
"What cancer?" Tony blurts out
The doctor nods, and says, "but you're so young."
If there is anything I have learned...cancer is not prejudice at all!!! It doesn't care how old you are, your race, sex, religion, anything.
Hand in hand, with tears in our eyes, we walk out of that room...our life changed forever.
Hey Doc...I Think I Have An Ulcer 11-5-11
Ok...its Nov 5, Tony turns 39 and its time for our yearly physicals. Only as an adult you don't get shots, you get blood drawn. LOL
"Hey Doc, be sure to ask Tony about his stomach. Its been bothering him a lot latly when he eats. He's stuborn and won't tell you." Little did I know that that simple request would change our life forever.
A month later, its time to meet with the GI doc to schedule his scope. Becuase of the holidays we get in on 1/26/12.
"No ulcer, no hernia, no tumors. Everything looks great.!! Just some irritation but its probably just some bacteria; the biopsis will tell us for sure." Says the doc as Tony and I are high 5ing eachother.
A few days later we get a letter that he has a follow up in a month. DOUBLE HIGH 5's.
Friday 2/3/12 830am - RING, RING....Who is calling me this early?
"Yes ma'am this is the nurse from the doctor's office. We need your husband to come in tomorrow morning at 0800 if at all possible."
IM SORRY WHAT?? On a Saturday? Who wants to see their patient on a Saturday? I drop the phone and broke down. After losing my brother to lung cancer almost 2 years before to the day, I knew what that phone call was all about.
Now I had to tell Tony without him worrying...
"Hey Doc, be sure to ask Tony about his stomach. Its been bothering him a lot latly when he eats. He's stuborn and won't tell you." Little did I know that that simple request would change our life forever.
A month later, its time to meet with the GI doc to schedule his scope. Becuase of the holidays we get in on 1/26/12.
"No ulcer, no hernia, no tumors. Everything looks great.!! Just some irritation but its probably just some bacteria; the biopsis will tell us for sure." Says the doc as Tony and I are high 5ing eachother.
A few days later we get a letter that he has a follow up in a month. DOUBLE HIGH 5's.
Friday 2/3/12 830am - RING, RING....Who is calling me this early?
"Yes ma'am this is the nurse from the doctor's office. We need your husband to come in tomorrow morning at 0800 if at all possible."
IM SORRY WHAT?? On a Saturday? Who wants to see their patient on a Saturday? I drop the phone and broke down. After losing my brother to lung cancer almost 2 years before to the day, I knew what that phone call was all about.
Now I had to tell Tony without him worrying...
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