Life's a journey...but this could be a rollercoaster!

It's time to resurrect this old blog with the purpose of keeping our family and friends informed of the latest happenings.  Chris and I both recognize that we have a long odyssey ahead of us, and we want our family and friends to be informed, but know how nearly impossible it is to call and email everyone.  So, we will both post to this blog as the story progresses.  Check back often, or better yet set up an RSS feed on your iGoogle page so that you are notified when a new posting happens.

On Thanksgiving day, 2010, Chris started to feel a mild bloating and pain in his abdomen.  It got steadily worse over the weekend and by Sunday he was in pretty substantial pain.  He went into his primary care doctor on Monday morning.  She ordered a CT scan which he did later that afternoon.  He came home and waited for a call...which he got about 3pm.  She said they found several masses on his colon and some spots on his liver and she was admitting him to the hospital immediately.

He called me at work to tell me so he came and got me, we packed his stuff and hurried on down to St. Mary's Hospital at Mayo Clinic.  We are so very fortunate to have a world-class medical institution in our own back yard!

We got him checked in, and they started poking him with all sorts of needles and tubes, the worst of which was an NG tube (Naso Gastric) to clear his stomach of fluid and pull gasses up.  All this was to prep for a colonoscopy the next day (Tuesday).  He had the colonoscopy and they took a biopsy and put a stent in to open the blockage.

Today we got the results of the biopsy which confirmed their suspicion that it is indeed cancer.  They said there is also swelling around the lymph nodes in that area.

This might sound silly, but one of the most disappointing things was this new diet he has to follow.  Because of the stent, there is a risk that material could get caught up in the stent and cause another blockage.  So, he has to eat a low residue diet.  It's incredibly restrictive, and exactly opposite the new diet I've been following for the last 3 months.  He basically can't have anything with fiber.  So, no veggies, no fruits, only fruit juice with no pulp.  Only soft enriched white bread, soft meats, and limited dairy.  Holy Cow!  We've been following a whole foods diet with great success over the last few months, so now he'll be doing his thing and I'll be doing mine.  Kind of a bummer!

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the oncologist and hope to learn a lot more, like what is the prognosis, what are the treatment options, and maybe get an understanding of what our life will be like in the future.

There's really nothing anyone can do at this point.  All we ask is that you send your positive energy and healing thoughts our way.  We are keeping our thoughts and discussions positive and are thankful for all the blessings we have in our life. We are grateful for so many friends and thank you for your love and concern.

Julia and Chris