Update on Dad's Voice

Hello all, Mom and Dad saw the ENT doctor this morning. Dad's left vocal chord is not working so he can't talk and it affects his swallowing. The doctor says that it may not ever work. They do not know what caused it -- it may be pressure from the nearby lymph nodes or something else. They can try an operation to give a shot in the vocal cords, but not right now. They are going to wait and see how the chemo goes. In the meantime, dad will have a raspy voice so we'll have to listen carefully. But they are going to try acupuncture to see if his voice returns and hopefully when they clear the phlegm from his throat, that will be a quick fix.

Prayers Needed with More Chemo

My dad got his results from the oncologist. The small spots on his lungs that they found during surgery have grown slightly and he has some small spots on his liver. So they are going to do additional chemo. He will have 4 doses of 46 hours of chemo. He will do this for 4 weeks and then we will see where he stands. He is not starting chemo this week because they want him to get his phlegm issues worked out first. He will see an ENT doctor this week.

We believe in the power of positive thought. We also believe that God does everything for a reason. When this whole process started my Dad was supposed to have 2 rounds of chemo. He never got his 2nd round because of other issues. So the small spots of cancer stayed in his lungs. If it were not for his phlegm issues and the discovery of more cells the next round of chemo would not have happened to get rid of the cancer in his lungs. It isn't the result that we were expecting, but maybe he always needed that 2nd round of chemo to totally eradicate this terrible disease. The next few weeks won't be fun, but luckily my Dad is a fighter and one of the strongest men I know. Now he will be able to live with NO cancer in his body. WE BELIEVE.....Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. It has helped tremendously so far.

All Went Well Today

All done and now we see if he gets better or we might need to see ENT doctor. They removed a small polyp, and they will biopsy and know the results soon. All went well; there was some dilation but his throat looked clear and maybe stomach a little swollen but according to doctor all looks ok.

We talked to dad this afternoon and he was sounding good. We could hear him a little better than in past days.

The Latest on Dad

Tomorrow dad undergoes an outpatient procedure to look into his esophagus to see if they can figure out what is causing major mucous secretions which has reduced his ability to talk to a strained whisper. They will also use a balloon to stretch the scar tissue where his stomach and esophagus are joined which we hope is part of an easy fix to the mucous problem. In either case, God has it in His mighty hands.

Dad has also been undergoing physical therapy to breakup the scar tissue in his stomach and back. His back has been a cause of lots of pain and discomfort daily. Progress is slow but steady.

Dad has his next CAT scan on Friday, 11 July and results on Monday. We believe it will be good results--God has it.


And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
--- Revelation 21:4