800 Pound Gorilla
My Dad never called me Friday, which worried my Sister and me, since we figured that meant he had found out the worst news possible. We were afraid he was upset and unable to or didn't want to talk. But at 8:30pm (his appt had been at 3:45), I'd had enough and called him. I got the distinct impression he had no intention of calling M. or me, either because he didn't want to deal with it, or because he still has no 100% for sure answer (or both). Given Dad's track record over the years, I'm leaning more toward "didn't want to deal with it".
I asked him what he found out, and he nonchalantly ran through a list of tests that I didn't give a rat's ass about (cholesterol--elevated, prostate--not elevated, yadda yadda). Then he finally came to the two I was most concerned with: the tumor marker tests. Both were elevated, as I suspected and feared they would be. However, the doctor said that other (non-cancerous) things can cause elevated levels in these particular tests, so they aren't diagnostic, and Dad will need further testing. The doctor isn't even willing to suggest it *might* be cancer and/or discuss options or referrals if it is or isn't cancer. Now, J. found all kinds of things online about non-cancerous conditions that can cause elevated CEA or CA19-9 results, but given his entire breadth of symptoms--loss of appetite, rapid weight loss, weird pains throughout his body, increasing fatigue in a man over 50 who only recently gave up a 40+ year smoking habit--I just think it's disingenuous to not at least acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Be that as it may, the doctor is admitting Dad to the hospital for further testing on Monday because if he were to do all the scans, scopes, x-rays, and blood draws on an outpatient basis, it might be another 2-3 weeks before they get everything done and back. The doctor is hoping he'll have everything he needs by Wednesday. Having been in the hospital last year and having seen the monument to inefficiency that the local hospital is, Dad doesn't figure he'll be out Wednesday, but he is hoping that he'll at least leave with an appetite when he does leave.
Dad's pretty weak now (and no, apparently he isn't anemic), but then when you eat next to nothing, you can't keep much strength up for very long. He's going to miss the local fall festival and our performance today; he can't walk more than a block. This will be the first year he's missed this festival in gods know how many years. At the end of our phone conversation, he'd mentioned that, and I said (intentionally, to see what his reaction would be), "Well, that's ok, you'll go next year." His response? "Well, I don't know. I guess we'll see." That tells me that Dad is on intimate terms with that 800 pound gorilla, even if his doctor refuses to notice it....
I asked him what he found out, and he nonchalantly ran through a list of tests that I didn't give a rat's ass about (cholesterol--elevated, prostate--not elevated, yadda yadda). Then he finally came to the two I was most concerned with: the tumor marker tests. Both were elevated, as I suspected and feared they would be. However, the doctor said that other (non-cancerous) things can cause elevated levels in these particular tests, so they aren't diagnostic, and Dad will need further testing. The doctor isn't even willing to suggest it *might* be cancer and/or discuss options or referrals if it is or isn't cancer. Now, J. found all kinds of things online about non-cancerous conditions that can cause elevated CEA or CA19-9 results, but given his entire breadth of symptoms--loss of appetite, rapid weight loss, weird pains throughout his body, increasing fatigue in a man over 50 who only recently gave up a 40+ year smoking habit--I just think it's disingenuous to not at least acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Be that as it may, the doctor is admitting Dad to the hospital for further testing on Monday because if he were to do all the scans, scopes, x-rays, and blood draws on an outpatient basis, it might be another 2-3 weeks before they get everything done and back. The doctor is hoping he'll have everything he needs by Wednesday. Having been in the hospital last year and having seen the monument to inefficiency that the local hospital is, Dad doesn't figure he'll be out Wednesday, but he is hoping that he'll at least leave with an appetite when he does leave.
Dad's pretty weak now (and no, apparently he isn't anemic), but then when you eat next to nothing, you can't keep much strength up for very long. He's going to miss the local fall festival and our performance today; he can't walk more than a block. This will be the first year he's missed this festival in gods know how many years. At the end of our phone conversation, he'd mentioned that, and I said (intentionally, to see what his reaction would be), "Well, that's ok, you'll go next year." His response? "Well, I don't know. I guess we'll see." That tells me that Dad is on intimate terms with that 800 pound gorilla, even if his doctor refuses to notice it....