Colon Cancer

My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer on the 14th of October (2009) and by the 19th we knew that the cancer was terminal. The official diagnosis is Advanced Stage IV Colorectal Cancer with Metastasis to the Liver. Here are some things that have been going on:

• The tumor in the colon is very large and my Dad is having very intense pain. He is uncomfortable sitting or standing. Because of the size of the tumor he is on a liquids-only diet.
• They found very large cancers in the liver and this is what made the cancer terminal.
• My Dad received 5 radiation treatments to help shrink the tumor, but so far it hasn't gotten smaller. We really won't know if the radiation was successful or not until he gets another CT scan sometim in December.
• My Dad took his first dose of chemo on Nov. 5, and plans to take another treatment on Nov. 19. The "regiment" of chemo he'll be receiving is the following: He'll go to the cancer center on Thursday, get labwork (to check blood counts, especially white blood cells), then he'll see the doctor, and with her ok, he'll go in for chemo. Chemo treatments require that he get hooked up to an IV through his port-a-cath for several hours. Before leaving the nurses will hook up another chemo med through a pump carried in a fanny pack for 46 hours. On Saturday a nurse will come out to the house and will disconnect the pump. He'll then have a break from the chemo for two weeks when the process will begin again. The regiment calls for this to continue for six months until 12 treatments have been given.
• My Dad lost his job many months ago and so we don't have medical insurance or life insurance. God has been good and He's been providing, but we're facing some pretty steep medical bills. It was $30,000 for the radiation treatments and it will cost $20,000 for each of the chemo treatments (there will be 12 over six months.) These numbers do not include doctors fees or any of the other numerous costs, but we're still trusting in the Lord!
• We don't know how many more days God will give, so we are trying to make memories while we can.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, my family and I appreciate it. You can keep track of my Dad's condition or write a special note on his guestbook by going to: http://www.kennwong.wordpress.com/