The visit to MD Anderson yesterday was difficult for Amos.  As we got a tour of the facility, he got a panicked look on his face and said “It hasn’t seemed real until just now.”  His oncologist seemed well trained.

Oncologist:

Madappa Kundranda, MD,PhD

Specialty:
Colorectal Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Medical Oncology, Oncology, Pancreatic Cancer, Stomach Cancer

We got more information about the specific kind of cancer Amos has, options for treatment and what to expect in the coming days.

Cancer Type: Adenocarcinoma – a cancer that starts in the glands that line the inside of one of your organs.  In Amos’s case, the main tumor is in the Sigmoid Colon.

If the cancer was only there, surgery would be the best option, but Dr. Kundranda says it has spread to both sides of the liver so surgery on the liver would be difficult.  It has also spread to the peritoneum confirming that the cancer is in stage 4. This means that surgery alone will not be enough.

The oncologist also wants a CT of Amos’s chest to make sure the disease hasn’t spread anywhere else and a biopsy of the liver to confirm that cancer exists there.

The oncologist also spoke about a new drug called MSI that is starting clinical trials and may be an option for Amos.

Surgery Now or Later? The difficult decision that remains is weather to have the surgery to remove the main tumor first or start the Chemotherapy to try to shrink everything.  The oncologist wanted to start with Chemo until he realized that the tumor was obstructive, causing terrible back and abdominal pain, constipation and vomiting.  Now he is favoring surgery first with Chemo to follow 4 weeks after.  We meet with the surgeon, Dr. Mark Gimball at MD Anderson Tuesday afternoon to make that decision.

Surgeon:

Mark Gimbel, MD

Specialty:
Colorectal Cancer, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Liver Cancer, Melanoma, Oncology Surgery, Pancreatic Cancer, Sarcoma, Skin Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Thyroid Cancer

We have seen more outpouring of love and overwhelming acts of service from so many of you.  We have also had many of you share your personal stories and we understand that there are many other options for treatment.  I wish we had time to explore those in more depth and make a more informed decision, but we feel his condition is too urgent to take non-standard directions at this moment.  Perhaps once the main tumor is removed, we will have more time to explore all the other options many of you have so graciously taken the time to share with us.

Something small that made me smile was the #teamamos that Jef Rawls came up with.  My friend pointed out that team amos also says te amamos which means “we love you” in Spanish.  How perfect.  I hope he knows that we love him and that he has lived his life in a way that his service and love for everyone around him has come back to bless him when he needs it most.

We found some peace at the temple tonight then some good food before it was time to remove the bandages from the port implant.