Uncharted Territory Journey

Our first message 10/21/15

We are writing to tell you of a big change. We were scheduled to start a journey to Spain and Africa this week. Instead we will be taking a life journey.  Monday we learned that Nancy has a mass on her pancreas and some spots on her liver.  They are relatively sure it is cancer. Today we were at the hospital for a biopsy which was postponed until Wednesday October 28. The first primary care doctor appointment is scheduled and Friday for the first of what we believe could be many many discussions. Currently the first oncologist appointment is scheduled for Tuesday but may also be postponed due to the biopsy.

You can well imagine that we feel like we have been hit by a train. Lots and lots of questions and things to think about.  Only thing we know so far is we will take this thing head on and together. 

We have decided that like our other adventures/journeys we are going to blog this one as well.  So our On The Road Again blog will have thoughts, updates, and ramblings of this journey. 

Our first publishing will be when we get results of biopsy. We will notify you when it's up. After that we suggest you look every so often as we will not notify you of updates and we want this to be at your option.

Lastly, sorry we gave you this news this way. We welcome your positive thoughts and/or prayers.  

Love, 
Nancy and Sue

The update:  10/24/15

Our new journey got named on Monday October 19th.  Clearly we had been traveling it without knowing for some time now.  Nancy’s doc called us while we were out to dinner.  We stood outside and talked to her as she expressed her surprise that the CT scan I had earlier in the day showed a mass on my pancreas and spots on my liver.  Expectation:  Pancreatic cancer. 

So this started with a doctor’s appointment October 13th for abdominal discomfort and occasion pain that would double me over.  First step, maybe Giardia again since I had it before, or parasites.  Nope.  Next step a CT scan with results above.

Friday we learned that a marker for pancreatic cancer was normal, though it is still possible to have pancreatic cancer with these numbers.  A less general number was high and with the symptoms I was presenting my doc and oncologist, who we have not yet met, determined a colonoscopy was in order to determine if this is colon cancer instead.  Colonoscopy is less invasive than the biopsy and if positive then no biopsy needed.  If negative, we go on for the biopsy.

So what are we doing to stay positive, active and in touch.

We have heard from many of you and that has been helpful.  We appreciate all the prayers, good wishes and offers to help.  So far the symptoms are mildish so we are trying to do something fun everyday.  Of course we are reading, reading and reading…The weather has been glorious so we have been on a few outside walks, went to the Y the other day to use their machines.  Took in a good movie, but the lung cancer theme had us in tears most of the way through.  Went to the science museum to see the Humpback movie in IMAX—great.  And discovered our friend Jenny was off work and free for lunch one day so met her before walking at the mall and doing a bit of shopping.  Mary and Co were over today and we went out to find a labyrinth to walk, the first overgrown, the second hard to find but very calming on a beautiful afternoon.  Met Agnes, a 90 year old nun who helped us find it and asked us to say a prayer for her, done.

So obviously this is overwhelming, the unknown leaves us waiting.  We will wait to post more when we have some news.  No one needs to hear about colonoscopy prep!

We canceled our current trip, today was to be day one, in Barcelona.  Tomorrow, Provence and followed by Palma de Mallorca.  Put pictures of those places in your mind to keep the travel theme going. Here are a few local pictures from the week to start things off.  One from a walk, the other the labyrinth.