Update December 21st

Hi everyone. A couple of weeks ago my dad went in for his normal check up. Through the MRI they saw that there was a change, a lightening of the impacted area. They thought that it could be caused by the radiation or that the tumor had begun to grow. My dad went in last Wednesday for a bone biopsy to figure out what the change was caused by. Today we found out that there is still Sarcoma in the bone.

What this means is that the tumor has begun to grow. After meeting with Dr. Ryan, it appears that the tumor probably has been growing, microscopically, since treatment ended. Dr. Ryan said that at times sarcoma's can spread very quickly, but his seems to be taking its time. It most likely has been growing this whole time and just now finally was big enough to push against nerves and cause my dad the discomfort he has been dealing with. Also, it is finally a size large enough to show up on the scan.

One option we were given was to begin a pill regimen where dad will take four pills once a day. This is not meant to "destroy" the sarcoma, but it will hopefully reduce it or at least stop it from growing anymore. This is what we are choosing to do. We are waiting to see if insurance will pay for it. Wow, drugs can be expensive. It is a pill that is used for Kidney Cancer, but Dr. Ryan feels that this is the best option.

My dad will also be consulting with a new doctor, Dr. Ching. This would be for a decompression surgery where they will potentially shave off some of his bone located on his spine (sacrum) so as to relieve the pressure that has been impacting his walking. We are waiting to hear from his office to schedule this appointment.

When he went through his initial treatment, Dr. Hung used such an extreme amount of radiation that he worries anymore could cause nerve damage and end in the same result of the surgery we are not doing-loss of many abilities. Therefore, radiation is not an option that we are looking to.

The only way to get rid of the Sarcoma would be to remove it through surgery. All who know my dad know that this is not an option. So we are praying that the pills and the decompression surgery will be successful in helping my dad regain his amazing abilities and to stop the Sarcoma.

As always, we appreciate everyone's prayers and thoughts. My dad has touched many lives and it is good to know that so many people care about him.