The Oracle

As many of you have noticed, I haven't been around much lately. This is due to my father being ill. Back in May, he went into the hospital for an infected salvia gland. While there, they found two lumps in his lungs. They have been doing lots of test to determine what it is. Yesterday (July 10th), they made the diagnosis. He has Pleural Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the smooth lining of the chest, lungs, heart, and abdomen. This skin layer is made up of mesothelial cells, hence the name mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a diffuse but solid tumor that begins as a result of insult to the tissues caused by asbestos particles. These have penetrated into the pleural cavity of the chest or into the abdomen. Mesothelioma is either called pleural mesothelioma or peritoneal mesothelioma based on where it appears.

http://www.curemeso.org/site/c.kkLUJ7MPKtH/b.4023387/k.2631/Learn_More_About_Mesothelioma.htm#Mesothelioma

This is worse than we had been expecting. Right now doing lots of research into “what do we do now”. Most literature says only expect to live about a year after being diagnosed. I am hoping with them finding it in the early stages that he will beat that one year sentence and live longer. My parents are talking about plans to travel which they had put off for years.

I will be continuing to work here at Oracle, but my activities are going to be dictated by my father’s health though. I just wanted to let everyone here know what was going on.

Thanks for your love and support.

First up I want to say how brave you are at this moment, you've shared something here but also you've opened up to tell people what is happening. To me that is a remarkable trait that is worth its weight in gold for respect.

Secondly I wish to give my prayers to you and your family, its the least I can do.

Lastly I want to help as much as I can, so I'm looking into the illness and what there is out there for it. I would also encourage everyone here to help out there, the more of us looking up things the better educated we can all be and the more help we can offer.

It might not be much other than knowing more about it, but we may also come across different treatments or even something alternative.

Well I spent all day Sat with my dad. He is in ok spirits considering all things. Because my parents can't talk to each other about this, I am pulling double duty as listener. They are getting a 2nd opinion from the nationally known cancer hospital in Houston TX. My mother is praying that they mis-diagnosed him.

Thank you everyone for all you have already done.

Hi , lynx i am sorry to hear your news. I am sure you will be a great source of love and stength to your parents . I will be praying for you.
Blessings Jean XXX

Well Lynx some much promised energy is on its way to you

I hope it helps...

Thank you so much. He is staying in good spirits right now. I just hope that last after his dr. appt on Monday.

Love you all.

Well his appt yesterday answered some questions, but brought up new ones. Well the tumors in both lungs are NOT Cancerous (Yeah!!), but he has what they call "hot spots" in both of his lungs. We know that the right one is Mesothelioma, but they don't know what is in the other one. They are sending him to a top notch cancer hospital in Houston TX. They are a world leader in this kind of cancer. Until they can tell what is going on in both lungs, they can't tell us what stage he is at or what treatments are available to him.

Thanks for all your love and support.

Well all I can say is keep your faith at the moment, just hang in there and remember we're here for you. And before you say it I know you're here for us aswel

LOL you know me too well.

I am going to be staying home so my parents can go to Houston while I stay with my grandfather. This will be the first time other than over night that my husband and I have be separated since we got married 11 yrs ago.

Ok more confusion about my dad's illness. The doctor in Houston can't confirm or deny that he has Mesothelioma because the test the local hospital did are not conclusive. In other words, all the months of testing and we still don’t have an answer. The hospital in Houston is going to be doing a full battery of tests to determine beyond a reasonable doubt what is going on. Thank you all for your support in this long drawn out crisis.

My gods its starting to sound like our local NHS trust every second!!

Trust me when I say half the time around here the hospital suffers from one hand not knowing what the other is doing.

Just hold in there Lynx

I trust the hospital in Houston. They know what they are doing. We had dealings with them 1974-1978 when my great-grandmother and grandmother were going there for treatments. They also embrace "traditional" medicines and practices as well. They treat the whole person not just the cancer.

They had a case from our local hospital that was very disturbing. A woman was diagnosed with cancer and was taking chemo and radiation. When she wasn’t getting any better, they sent her to Houston. She not only didn’t have, but the chemo and radiation caused her to get a brain tumor. She died from the tumor. Her husband is suing the hospital for malpractice. This is why my mother wanted a second opinion from the hospital in Houston.

Hi Lynx, I'd recently asked cadno how you were and he told me of your situation that your father is ill and reading back the posts here I can see your having one hell of a time getting answers.

Getting a second opinion is very valuable, My grandfather passed away in november from a variety of things that stemmed from cancer in his stomach. His doctor told him it was just a bug that he was finding it hard to shift cos of his age.

He got annoyed that he was being fobbed off and went to another 'specialist' and when he described the symptoms the doctor there sent him for a test he hadnt had before and it was found that not only had he got cancer that if his original doctor had bothered to test him the same way 2 years previous he may have been able to fight it and get cured.

I know what its like care for family and get frustrated from feeling confused because of hospitals but there are some good people there like the ones in this houston place sound.

So I'll just re-iterate what cadno has said, hang on in there, we are here for you just as you would be for us.

BiNkY

Thank you so much. I am trying so hard not to get upset over all this. I am still trying to be the rock for both my parents. Right now they are hopeful, but I want to be prepared if things don't go like they want.

I am also trying to get back into activites but not having much luck right now. I am too drained right now. I am reading Chapter 1 of my book on animal spirit guides for the 4th time . I can't see remember what I read before. We went to a friends' house and stayed overnight because my husband thought I needed to just get away from everything for a bit. It has helped some.

I will keep everyone updated as soon as we get some news.