Background

As many of you know, after weeks of tests & various diagnoses, dad has been diagnosed with angio sarcoma of the sacrum (the place above your tailbone that all your nerves funnel into). Below, you will find a timeline of events to catch you up...

December 2006 - Dad was admitted to the hospital (stayed overnight) because of a possible bone infection.

He had been experiencing pain for a few months, tests were run & they determined it was the stress of his long distance running that was causing this pain. The Drs. told him to cut back on his exercise & that would, hopefully, cut down on the swelling/pain.

2007 - Pain continued in the tailbone. Dad took small amounts of Advil everyday & this seemed to alleviate the pain.

As the year progressed, the pain continued. The Advil was taken with more frequency & eventually, quit working.

October 18th (Thurs) - Dad went in for more blood tests and another MRI. The Dr. prescribed pain pills (the Advil had quit working at this point). Mom and dad headed to Black Butte for the weekend to relax.

October 19th - October 22nd (Fri - Mon) - The pain pills only worked for a few hours & dad's pain became unbearable. The trip home from Black Butte was long & difficult.

October 24th (Wed) - Dad went in to see an Infectious Disease (Dr. Girard). He went over all of dad's blood test results & then informed us that the results showed an inflammation around the sacrum. 7 different radiologists reviewed the tests & concurred that this pain was a stress fracture. Dr. Girard spent a lot of time with mom & dad inquiring about all of dad's symptoms, how he ended up in his office, etc. He then told dad to head over to the hospital & they were going to check him in. His blood counts were extremely high (indicates an infection) & the pain was unbearable & uncontrollable w/the pain meds at this point.

After checking into the hospital, they tried to find some pain meds that would, at least, touch the pain. After much experimentation, dad could finally rest - somewhat - comfortably. That night there were blood tests, CT scans, & a bone biopsy (the Drs. took bone from 6 different spots in the sacrum).

October 25th (Thurs) - Dad's pain was pretty much under control. Just stayed in the hospital awaiting results.

October 26th (Fri) - Another bone biopsy was performed (they didn't get enough good bits of bone to run enough test). His general practitioner came in that evening & informed dad & mom that in the bone biopsy, they found cancer cells & that tests would be run to determine the type of cancer & we would hear the results on Monday.

October 27th - 28th (Sat - Sun) - A very long weekend spent at the hospital. Denial. Frustration. Stress. The entire family & many friends visited & watched football. We made a great time out of a horrible situation.

October 29th (Mon) - Oncologist came in & told us more tests were needing to be run. We asked questions & had some answered, others weren't able to be answered until more results came in.

October 30th (Tues) - Dad needed an open bone biopsy performed. No one in Salem was willing to perform this surgery. Dad was transferred up to OHSU. The Drs. there also specialize in rare forms of cancer & would hopefully be able to determine what type dad had.

November 2nd (Fri) - Dad was released for home. Pain still not 100% under control, but was bearable.

November 9th (Fri) - Bone biopsy performed at OHSU. There is an 8 inch incision & the drs. had to pull away muscle & tissue to get to the bone. The surgery went as well as expected. Dad could go home that night! Many of us hung out in the recovery room with dad & had a good time. Dad was feeling no pain & got up & kind of danced around - lots of laughter.

The next few days were full of intense pain. Not a lot of sleep & a lot of anxiety was experienced, by all. This bone biopsy would tell us what type of cancer dad truly has & what the course of action was going to be.

November 16th (Fri) - Dad has his follow-up appt w/the surgeon. He had his stitches removed & the nurse informed him that it was the best looking incision she had seen.

We were told that dad has angio sarcoma of the sacrum. Only 55 people in the US, per year, contract this form of cancer. The surgeon said it's very rare & OHSU doesn't see a lot of patients with it (oddly enough, there was another patient going through the same thing as dad - but his cancer isn't in the sacrum). The surgeon answered all the questions we had (& was incredibly supportive & honest - much appreciated, especially in a time like this). He recommended we come back up on November 21st (Wed). There was going to be a sarcoma panel & the radiation dr. & chemo dr. would both be there. They would all be able to put their heads together to come up with the best course of treatment for dad.

November 17th - 20th (Sat - Tues) - Very long few days. More questions were written down for drs. Pain was still far from being under control. Experimenting with different pain pills was still going on.

November 21 (Wed) - The day has finally come....we get to find out some real answers...Uncle B & all 4 kids (& 1 pseudo kid) were at the appt. Yep, very crowded room, but lots of ears & support.

We met w/the radiation dr. first. All questions were answered, but we still weren't sure where treatment would be. According to the dr. - where dad's cancer is, it makes things complicated. He told us that he was going to get in touch w/his alma matter (MD Anderson in Houston) to see if dad would be better off receiving radiation from a proton machine (only 4 in the US - 1 in Houston & 1 in Loma Linda, CA). The proton machine has the ability to narrow where the radiation hits. But...with the cancer dad has, there may be no need for it (they use a proton laser when other internal organs may receive some excess radiation from a normal machine, but there are no internal organs around the sacrum that may get in the way - in dad's case).

We then met w/a chemo dr. & he informed us that he didn't feel chemo would touch dad's cancer. He said there were some experimental trials (Michael had found some info on the Internet & inquired about them) that we could look at, but we would use that as a last option - after radiation was completed. We expressed concern about dad's continued pain & the dr. changed some meds around & gave mom some ideas about how she should be flexible to, hopefully, control the pain.

November 22nd (Thurs) - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Dad had a great day, he even cut the turkey!!!!

November 23rd - 25th (Fri - Sun) - Dad got the hiccups...extremely painful! Every hour on the hour & they lasted for at least 20 - 40 min. Miserable!

November 24th (Mon) - 12:30 am, mom took dad to the Salem ER. At 4 am, they checked him into the hospital (w/the Salem oncologists recommendation). A shot was given (to attempt to curb the hiccups) & blood was drawn. When the tests came back, dad was informed he would have to have a blood transfusion.

Lots of drugs...dad was in a haze. Saying some hilarious things he's not going to remember. Still had the hiccups, the pain was there from a shot the night before...20 minutes after the blood transfusion he came out of his haze - read the menu & watched an hour of tv (yep, straight out of the movies, he OBVIOUSLY needed that blood).

November 27th (Tues) - Dad stayed in the hospital, hiccups were becoming further in between, pain was less, frustration - high.

November 28th (Wed) - Another blood transfusion (to prepare his body for the treatments). Released for home that night. Rough day. Still in a bit of pain. No sleep. Nausea every time he ate.

November 29th (Thurs) - Still pain. No sleep. Nausea. Finally found out that radiation would be given in Portland at OHSU. Dr. apologized up & down for not letting mom & dad know sooner (had been discussing w/MD Anderson, dad's results & different treatment options/ideas). Ate dinner, went for a walk, watched hoops, experimented w/some things....

November 30th (Fri) - Dad slept for 7 hours straight last night!!!! Had a wonderful night. Went to Costco w/mom & shopped. Went for a few walks. Helped get Christmas decorations upstairs. Looked & felt great!!!!