Update on Mike (hopper52)

Hi EC survivors. This is Linda, Jennifer, and Lisha, writing on behalf of our father, Michael (hopper52), who is an active member and friend to many of you. We wanted to first thank everyone for being such a source of inspiration, hope, and guidance for our father. All three of us live in the northeast, so we are certain many of you are closer to him in ways we cannot imagine. We also wanted to update everyone briefly on his condition, as he's been absent for a while. Maybe you can give our family some more rays of hope.

Dad had developed some terrible pains in his abdomen and finally after too much pain, he went to the emergency room at our local hospital. He has had several large, hard masses in his abdomen, and during his week-long stay in the local hospital, some of the mass had even started to surface through his belly button. After CT scans, the doctors agreed that the cancer had spread, but we kept hoping that when Mike gets transferred to Moffitt Cancer Center, the radiologists, surgeons, and specialists would agree they were just the same hotspots from his hernia and other scar tissues. On the 17th, after a week at the local hospital, Dad was taken to Moffitt where we continued to hope that his condition will improve.

We didn't realize the roller coaster of diagnoses that would follow. One day, we are told the cancer had spread, the next day, that he had only weeks left, the next, that the sonogram showed only bowel and they couldn't perform a biopsy. Finally, on the morning of the 21st, the doctor tells my dad that they are unsure, but that they are doing the surgery that day to see what's going on in his abdomen and possibly proceed with his scheduled esophagectomy. It was an all or nothing shot, but of course we were hopeful. A short two and a half hours after he went into surgery, the surgeon called us into the consultation room and told us that the cancer had spread extensively and had attacked his small intestine and colon. In some places, the tumors had almost completely obstructed his bowels -- the source of his extreme pain and swelling, and the source of the hotspots they'd seen in previous CT scans. They repaired his bowels as much as they could in order to allow him to eat. They were only able to remove one tumor (the one irritating his hernia spot) and they rerouted his colon to bypass another section seriously obstructed by the cancer. A biopsy confirmed that it is EC. They've given him a G-tube for future drainage, again with the goal of allowing him to eat without being fed through a tube. Because of the ascites, they had to suture him closed. He is recovering slowly but steadily, and has mainly been sleeping; thankfully his pain is being managed so he is somewhat comfortable. The doctors should remove his NG tube tomorrow, and then move him to liquids, with the goal of letting him come home in the next couple of days (barring any complications).

We've been told he has weeks to a month left, and we've been told perhaps three months max, and that chemo would extend his life for maybe a year (though he wouldn't be able to start for a month because of the surgery). A hospice liaison will be visiting tomorrow.

We think Dad had been expecting this for a while, but it doesn't in any way soften the blow of learning how badly his body has been damaged by this disease. We are trying to be hopeful...trying to claim that slimmest of chances that we have more time with him than just a matter of weeks. And all along, we have been thinking of you, again grateful for your love, support, and prayers for Dad, and wanting to reach out. We have no idea what is going to happen, or how to prepare for the coming weeks (hopefully months!). The doctors have explained a lot about his condition and his prognosis, but we find ourselves with more questions, and we want to know more than just the medical side of things. We'd appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thank you, again and again.