What An Emotional Roller Coaster

Dad had an appointment with a specialist in Charlotte today and that appointment was a huge let down after the great news from yesterday that his cancer had not spread. This doctor is very well respected in treatment of Melanoma but he was quite harsh with the facts... which is not a good way to approach things with my dad.

He told Dad he had a 50/50 chance of beating this if he went with the most aggressive treatment - which includes going back in for additional surgery to remove more of the area around the tumor and removing at least 50 or more lymph nodes.

Then he would do six weeks of radiation and then he would do six weeks of interferon, which is a concentrated form of chemotherapy. The doctor told him that he would become extremely sick during the interferon treatment. He said he was only recommending this to Dad because he is seemingly healthy otherwise - no heart disease, no diabetes, etc... He said at the age of 65 - if he had any medical condition, he would not be strong enough to endure the interferon.

He went on to tell Dad that he wasn't convinced that the cancer has not spread... stating that it could have spread and been so small at this point that the PET scan didn't detect it yet.

I tried to be as upbeat as possible but it's hard because I'm going on this emotional roller coaster with them... great news one minute and the sky is falling the next.

Additionally, Gran's memory continues to worsen daily.

Well, back to taxes. "Someone" decided on April 1st to not file their typical extension - so what normally takes me four+ weeks to do, I have to complete in a matter of days... in addition to the three photography classes that I have at UT right now.

I'm definitely spending Friday morning at the farm after I go to the doctor though. I need some farm fresh air and equine therapy! :)

Please continue to keep my dad in your prayers. Also - me too - that I can be a source of encouragement even though I'm having a hard time staying positive myself.

LA :)