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Chantalley · #1 05-12-2009, 07:31 PM

Tony went to the health department 2 weeks ago to have a mole removed. Lab work came back and it turns out it's malignant melanoma, aka skin cancer. Bad news. He goes for a surgery consultation tomorrow to see about checking his lymph nodes to see if it has spread. I don't know how in the heck to deal with this. He's only been home 6-7 weeks. It seems like the drama never stops. I'm so scared that they're going to come back and tell us that he has lymphoma or the cancer has spread to one of his organs.

I told him the other night that if he died on me I was going to be really pissed!

If you're of the mind, would you please pray for us? Sorry that I haven't been here much for all of you. I do come in and read from time to time and think about you guys often.

papisgirl · #2 05-12-2009, 07:46 PM

My heart just sank reading this post. Sister solider you already know I will be praying, the power of prayer in numbers can move mountains! I stopped and thank God that he was out, could you imagine if he was still in the "care" of TNDOC, you guys would have never known. This year has shown me above anything else to look at the positive in the worse of situations.

P.S.....it's not in our hands!

MrsJR · #3 05-12-2009, 07:49 PM

I'm sorry to hear this sad news...be strong sister, I'll be praying for you both...

heavy · #4 05-12-2009, 07:57 PM

Iwill be Praying for you both
God Bless

NotherWife2 · #5 05-12-2009, 08:01 PM

OH my gosh, Most definately YOUR MAN has been put in the first and dearest list of prayers -- right htere with you!!! Please, let us know the news!!! Peace be with you both!!!!!

NotherWife2 · #6 05-12-2009, 08:21 PM

This post needs to stay on TOP.
I will pray
PLEASE keep this Man in Your GRACE, He is a Man that was created in Your eyes. YOUR eyes are filled with LOVE, I ask you to PLEASE GRACE him in your PEACE and FORGIVNESS. He has a woman that LOVES Him, TRULY. In these times, there is more selfish love than there is TRUE Love. Thank YOU for all of the Blessings that are being graced upon this LOVE of YOURS, He is home, He is safe, He is being fed properly, and THEY are LOVING YOU.

UKGAL · #7 05-13-2009, 07:24 AM

Im so sorry to hear your news, your both in my prayers too.

superdreamATM · #8 05-13-2009, 08:21 AM

Chantal, you are in my thoughts all the time and now both of you are in my prayers. I am really happy that he is home with you. And although its unfortunate that he is having this medical issue, thank GOD he is able to access care out here and not wait for TDOC to put a band-aid on his problems. My brother in law had a malignant mole removed about 4 yrs ago. Everyone freaked out.. but he had the medical care he needed about he's doing great. The Lord got Tony home at the right time. And we will keep praying for you guys.

NotherWife2 · #9 05-13-2009, 11:44 AM

Praying.....

Chantalley · #10 05-13-2009, 12:21 PM

Well he went to the surgeon today. They told him the mole came back as stage 1 which is good. Stage 4 is pretty much terminal and they can't do much more than just keep you comfortable. He will go in for surgery next Thursday 05/21 which is a blessing because I already had that day scheduled off of work. They are going to remove a large chunk from around where the mole was removed, they said approximately the size of a hockey puck, and then they will inject dye to see which lymph nodes it travels to. Those will then be removed for biopsy. If the cancer hasn't spread, then he should be good to go. If it has, then we need to follow up with the oncologist to find out a treatment plan.

I really, really think that SuperdreamATM is right. If he had stayed in prison for any length of time then this would have been left untreated. At least with him being home, we have been able to seek treatment and quickly at that. All of this has happened within the last 2 weeks. All the TDOC would have done was give him some ibuprophen and tell him to go back to his cell. You're absolutely right, I need to look at this as the silver lining and realize that maybe this is God's plan so that we were able to get it taken care of. Thank you!

Odd Mushroom · #11 05-13-2009, 04:56 PM

I thought about you today. I was listening to the radio at work and they played "Live Like You Were Dying".

Still praying......

wheelergirl · #12 05-13-2009, 05:04 PM

You and Tony are in my prayers. Stay strong and trust that God is with you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chantalley

Tony went to the health department 2 weeks ago to have a mole removed. Lab work came back and it turns out it's malignant melanoma, aka skin cancer. Bad news. He goes for a surgery consultation tomorrow to see about checking his lymph nodes to see if it has spread. I don't know how in the heck to deal with this. He's only been home 6-7 weeks. It seems like the drama never stops. I'm so scared that they're going to come back and tell us that he has lymphoma or the cancer has spread to one of his organs.

I told him the other night that if he died on me I was going to be really pissed!

If you're of the mind, would you please pray for us? Sorry that I haven't been here much for all of you. I do come in and read from time to time and think about you guys often.

wheelergirl · #13 05-13-2009, 05:06 PM

That was beautiful......

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotherWife2

This post needs to stay on TOP.
I will pray
PLEASE keep this Man in Your GRACE, He is a Man that was created in Your eyes. YOUR eyes are filled with LOVE, I ask you to PLEASE GRACE him in your PEACE and FORGIVNESS. He has a woman that LOVES Him, TRULY. In these times, there is more selfish love than there is TRUE Love. Thank YOU for all of the Blessings that are being graced upon this LOVE of YOURS, He is home, He is safe, He is being fed properly, and THEY are LOVING YOU.

papisgirl · #14 05-21-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chantalley

He will go in for surgery next Thursday 05/21

You two are in my prayers.....

Chantalley · #15 05-22-2009, 07:16 AM

Surgery was yesterday. It went well, from what the doctor told me. I dropped him off at 7am and then took my daughter to school. I came back and was able to see him for a little bit in the day surgery waiting room. I went down to deal with the financial services people at 8:30 because he doesn't have insurance. I had to bring them a deposit up front and they will bill us for the remaining $9,000-10,000. By the time I got back upstairs they had already pulled him to pre-op. I was so worried because I didn't get to tell him I loved him right before surgery, I was afraid something would happen while he was on the table.

I really liked the way Fort Sanders Hospital handles the people who are waiting for someone in surgery. They have TV screens that scroll through with the doctors name, and the code for the patient, and it will tell you what stage they are in: pre-op, in OR, PACU, and then post-op. When the surgery begins an nurse calls to the waiting room from the OR to give an update. They call about every hour to let you know how things are progressing. At the end, they call to say they are finished and assign you a consultation room to speak with the doctor.

His doctor said the surgery went well, he removed a large area around the original mole site for biopsy and took out 3-4 lymph nodes from under Tony's right arm. He said from what he was able to see, he couldn't make a determination either way if the cancer had spread, we will just have to wait for the lab results. Due to the holiday, we might not find anything out until Tuesday. He said that during the pre-op appointment they had noticed some swelling on the right side lymph-nodes which could indicate the cancer had spread, but again we wouldn't know anything for sure until the lab results come back.

I think we finally headed out from the hospital at about 4pm that afternoon. He was pretty out of it, and said he was in a lot of pain. He has slept almost the whole time we've been home.

I'm worried about the lab results, and honestly I hate seeing him like this. Frankly, it's freaking me the heck out. He says he's in so much pain, it doesn't seem normal to me. I don't know. Hopefully it'll all be OK.

Thanks everyone from your prayers and well wishes.

superdreamATM · #16 05-22-2009, 09:47 AM

Chantal, I'm glad your hospital experience was good. I know it was scary, but it sounds like the staff was helpful and took good care of everyone and everything. When my brother in law had a cancerous mole removed, it was similar to what you're saying about Tony (but his was near his lower back so they removed groin lymph nodes). About the swelling, keep this in mind: the inflamed lymph nodes usually result in some degree of lymphedema. That is a fluid retention and its painful from what I've heard, but treated with medicine, exercise, and compression of the afflicted area. So maybe that's what's going on with Tony as well.

Just remember that all your Sisters out here are praying for you guys, and we know you can STAY STRONG. Be there for your man, stay busy with work and family, and remember alot of people are thinking about you!

liljohswife · #17 05-22-2009, 10:19 AM

i am so glad that surgery went well for you two you both are in my prayers just remember to stay strong for him and to keep on praying god works in all kinds of ways that we dont even now about. May god be with you two during all of this!!!!

papisgirl · #18 05-27-2009, 06:23 AM

Still praying for you guys....believing it will be the news you want to hear.....

Chantalley · #19 05-28-2009, 04:24 PM

We were back at the surgeon yesterday, they think he has a staph infection. So far, this has been a nightmare. They took a culture to send off to the lab to find out for sure, and they doubled his antibiotics. He has just been soaking through bandage after bandage with the discharge from the infection. I'm so worried. I've heard that staph infections are very difficult to fight.

We still don't have the pathology results from the biopsies. The doctor was kind of surprised by that, but attributed it to the holiday weekend. Tony seems to think that because he doesn't have insurance they haven't put any kind of priority on his results. Hopefully we know something tomorrow. My sister tells me that no news is good news, but I'm afraid to get my hopes up. Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes.

liljohswife · #20 05-28-2009, 06:41 PM

my son had staph infection he got it from school! It is very hard to get rid of he has been on meds going on 3 weeks know and it still drains real bad and once you get staph you will always have the germs in your system! The dr told me to give my son a bath in bleech once a week so that it wont break him out again with the sores! I am praying for you and your husband hope everything turns out good for you two!! May god bless you both!!!!!!!!!!!

cegsgirl · #21 05-28-2009, 08:33 PM

Keep me posted. I am praying and thinking of you guys often.

wheelergirl · #22 05-28-2009, 08:33 PM

You are both in my prayers still. Your sister is right, no news is good news. Just try to be calm and stay strong for your man and remember when you aren't feeling strong and you need people to lean on we will all be here for you.

superdreamATM · #23 05-29-2009, 08:26 AM

Chantal, i know it's scary and hard. My brother in law, like i told you, went through the same kinda thing. With the lymph nodes and just "surgery" in general, healing can be rough. But just follow dr's orders and keep praying like we are doing. Keeps us posted !

papisgirl · #24 05-30-2009, 06:01 AM

Just remember....It's in God's hands...he knew what he was doing when he got him out of those prison walls and into your arms...I know it's hard to look at the positive in the worse situations. I thank God he is with you and your love verses behind the walls. Stay rooted...and keep believing.

Chantalley · #25 06-04-2009, 05:58 PM

He went back to the surgeon yesterday. Yes he has a staph infection but whatever we've been doing has been working. It's still infected and seeping, but the redness has gone down as has the swelling and he hasn't had any more fevers.

The bad news is the cancer has spread. One of the lymph nodes tested positive for cancer.

The surgeon is going to consult with his peers to get their opinions, but he thinks that the best course of action is to go in and remove all of the lymph nodes under Tony's right arm.

He does want to wait a few more weeks before he schedules another surgery, to give him time to heal from the infection and then he wants to start him on some pre-surgery antibiotics to hopefully stop another infection from happening. After that, I'm not really sure. I guess he has to go and see an oncologist about chemo and/or radiation.

The blessing in all of this is that he is out here and we've been able to seek treatment for him. The cancer appears to be stage one and is easily treatable. Had he still been in prison, this could all be turning out very differently.

Now add to this the fact that my step-father passed away suddenly on Sunday and it has been one heck of a month.

Thank you all for your prayers, well wishes, and kind words!