Jon's Reflections

If interested, check out some of Jon's thoughts in an interview with Greg Richardson.

www.strategicmonk.com

Surgery Scheduled

We spent five hours at Kaiser Baldwin Park preparing for the removal of Jon's tumor on February 14th. The skin on Jon's left glut needs to heal adequately to avoid wound complications after surgery. This delay between radiation and surgery is mentally challenging; but Jon is trying to be patient. The chest CT scan was clear, which is great news. The tumor is slightly smaller than it was in October. Given sarcomas can grow at expeditious rates, this is hopeful.

When the tumor is removed, the doctors will not know if necrosis (death of cells) was due to radiation or chemotherapy. We are forced to live in the ambiguity...and this is hard. After surgery, the oncologist and Jon will come to the table to discuss the next phase of treatment. If all goes as planned, Jon will have four more rounds of chemotherapy.

This blog is a challenging line to navigate. Jon and I (as his wife) can hear the exact same piece of news and interpret it differently. In the end, Jon and his doctors will make the best decision. Jon and I have both agreed that this journey leaves us on opposite sides of the table (different vantage points). He is the only one "going through" treatment....Even though we have parallel experiences, we are in this together.  

Jon asked if he could see the tumor and the surgeon explained that it would be frozen by the time he came out of anesthesia. The tumor will be removed with a 1cm margin and immediately sent to the pathologist (while Jon is on the table). If the margins are clear (without cancer cells),  Jon will be stitched up. If the margins are not clear, the surgeon will carve out a bit more.

Pre-Op

Jon's pre-op appointment is in a week and a half. In the meantime, he is enjoying life without daily trips to the hospital. Hiking, biking, running, and pacing the house fill his days... Given this cancer is very rare, it is ironic that the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is battling it as well.

Megatron

"Megatron" is the name of the machine that treats Jon's primary tumor. This four million dollar machine can be seen here. For the last three weeks, Jon has driven to Kaiser Sunset 5 days/week for treatment. This is a rather "liturgical" season in his treatment plan; and it will come to a close in two weeks. Jon will then wait for his skin to heal and surgery will promptly follow. The surgery will include the removal of the primary tumor in his left gluteus along with adequate margins.

Four rounds of chemotherapy will follow surgery.

This is an incredibly long race, but Jon maintains a very positive attitude. He refuses to let the disease define him. Whether he is at the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre or riding San Gabriel foothills, he is mindful of being still... even in the waves of anxiety...

And these little animals help keep it all in perspective....