March 7th, 2017 rocked our world. Tom had been having trouble eating for several months. I was sure it was his gall bladder and we were both hoping that's what it was, since that is a fairly easy fix. In January, our Dr. did a CT scan and told Tom he needed to go to a gastroenterologist for a scope. It was probably just scar tissue from reflux, but it might be a tumor. It took a few weeks to get into the Dr, but he finally had the scope on March 7th. He had it at the surgery center in Enid. If you've ever been in there, then you know that it doesn't usually have private rooms for recovery, it has a large room with curtained off areas and very little privacy. When they called me back, they escorted me into a private room with a door. I thought "OH CRAP" and knew instantly that the news was not going to be good.
They brought Tom in and the Dr. came in to talk to us. He told us there was a tumor in Tom's esophagus and that he had taken a piece to biopsy and would be referring us to an oncologist. He made an appointment for that Thursday to get the biopsy results and told us to think about where we wanted to be referred. Thursday, March 10th, we got the news that it was cancerous. The next week, Tom had a PET scan and his first oncology appointment, where we learned that the cancer had spread. Since then it's been a whirlwind of treatments and another scan (with much better news) and dealing with the side effects of the chemo.
I have learned that Tom is braver and stronger than I could have ever imagined. I have learned that I love him more than I even thought I did.
During this time, I have completely let my healthy eating habits fall by the wayside. Now I want to work on getting back on track and moving again. We would appreciate your prayers for Tom's continued healing, for us as we deal with the financial aspect of cancer treatment, and for me to get my healthy lifestyle back. I know it would help me deal with the stress if I was eating healthy and moving more.