Highland Line No. 55

Cancer: His, Mine and Ours

What a roller coaster ride this month has been! Most of you will know why the delay for this edition of the Highland Line, but for those who don't, Don was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in February. That set me back and I began acting quite strangely: unable to concentrate, couldn't keep track of days and times, I was unusually disconnected and distracted. And I began heaving headaches, nausea, and occasional unsteadiness on my feet.

Don was convinced there was something physically wrong with me to he kept taking me down to our medical center. Dr. Payne put me on an anti-depressant which didn't seem to make much difference. Eventually, however, he referred me for a CT-scan of my head. They also X-rayed my left hip which has been paining me quite a bit for the last year. That happened on Thursday April 3rd. The result: a brain tumor and another tumor on the hip. (I was so flaky that my consultant/specialist described me as being "away with the fairies.") They admitted me to Perth Royal Infirmary that afternoon where I stayed for a week on a course of steroids to relieve the cranial swelling. Within a day and a half, Don said I was back to normal—and he was quite relieved. On the following Monday, they did CT scans of my chest and abdomen and found tumors in my right lung and spots on my liver. They are still trying to get a biopsy report finding on the lung tumor.

Today is the day of Don's first (of three) rounds of chemo. He has gone to Ninewells Hospital for an overnight chemo drip and will be home by mid-day tomorrow. Gordon Rae drove him to Dundee and Peter Innes will bring him home tomorrow. We have been inundated with cards, flowers, and phone calls offering to drive, shop, or do anything at all for us.

After Don's third round of chemo, he is to have a rest period of 6 to 10 weeks and then they will schedule his surgery to remove the tumor from his oesophagus and resection his stomach to what is left of his gullet. It will be a long and complicated surgery and he'll likely be in hospital for 2 weeks. He will have to learn to eat differently—more frequent smaller meals. Don's daughter Shara will come for about a month when he has surgery.

My oncologist has recommended a course of radiotherapy to shrink the brain tumor and get me off the steroids. We aren't sure when that will start but we're thinking probably next week. Molly is hoping to come over to be with us during my treatments. There will be one a day for 5 consecutive days. Depending upon what we eventually learn about the lung, I may also have a round or more or chemo. There are no operations being discussed for me.

All of you have been so wonderful with your e-mails, cards, phone calls, letters, books, wishes, and just general staying in touch and supportive. It means so very much to us.

We are really doing quite well so far and aren't suffering or looking any the worse for wear. We are still socializing with friends, Don has continued to play golf, and we are living life as normally as we can.

All of this is not as grim to us as it may seem to you. The amazing thing is that as each bit of news is presented, you gulp and you absorb it and you find out "What next?" Our spirits are good, greatly buoyed by this loving community we've landed ourselves in. Our medical professionals—doctors and nurses—are terrific and have been making spontaneous house calls. We feel well-connected to the health care apparatus of the NHS and know that we are in good hands with Ninewells Hospital, one of the best in the UK.

We'll continue to keep you posted as new information comes in.

Otherwise, April has been quite cool although we've had some very pretty days. Flowers are blooming everything, lambs are frolicking in the pastures, and the birds are getting "twitter-pated." We are deeply sad to miss our annual April trip to Bethesda to see our friends and children/grandchildren but we'll get back on track once all of this is over. For now, we've taken advantage of not traveling to send our passports and resident visas to the Home Office for extension/renewal. Until they are processed and returned, we ain't going nowhere but Dundee by car.