Surgery Results...

I finally had the opportunity to speak to Kaden this evening about his results and he has given the all clear to share them.

The surgeon said that when they got into his abdomen, the only thing they could see was the one mass that they originally saw on the scan. They looked all over and even looked in the other place he was having "tingling and tugging" and there was nothing there!  This was a MASSIVE win for us! Kaden was very worried that he was going to wake up and hear that there was cancer all over. 

The mass was located in basically the same spot as the first time around. This most likely means that they hadn't killed all the cancer cells at a microscopic level the first time. They also said that they don't know for sure if it was PMP (Pseudomyxoma Peritonei) or just mucinous adenocarcinoma like last time. We are awaiting results from pathology that won't be back until sometime next week. I know this doesn't mean much to those who I am updating, but if you care to google search you can see what the difference is between the two. PMP is a type of jellylike tumor that normally is found all over the belly. So if it is PMP it is rare that it would be in just the one spot, but VERY good that it hasn't gone anywhere else! 

The tumor had grown around his duodenum (the first part of the small intestine that connects to the stomach) and the head of his pancreas. Something that she hadn't seen before, which is not shocking for us as Kaden has always been a medical anomaly. She said that it was extra sticky and took quite a bit of precision to peel it off.  

The tumor was also sticking to his omentum. The omentum is a layer of fatty tissue that covers and supports the intestines and organs in the lower abdomen. 

While peeling the tumor off, they noticed that his colon was turning a bit purple. She thinks that in the process of peeling, they may have cut the blood supply to the colon. This was in the same section where they had cut and reconnected before. She said out of caution, they cut the purple part out and re-did the connection that was there from last time. Kaden was a little disheartened to hear that, as living with a 1/3 less colon has been a challenge over the last 3 years, but the good news is the doctor said it wasn't much--maybe only around 2 inches. 

Overall, she says Kaden's body did REALLY well and that on paper his recovery is going smoothly. I am sure it helps that he is a lot younger than most of her patients and that he is generally a healthy man. 

Although we can never say "cure" with Kaden's cancer, we have been very encouraged by this news and for all intents and purposes is the best news we could have gotten! ---Barring a no cancer diagnosis. :) 

The next couple of months will be a test of his strength, will, and patience but he is strong and he will get through it! 

We have been buoyed up by the prayers, love, and support of all of you and we cannot tell you how amazing it is to have such a wonderful group of people supporting us! 

April 1st 6pm

Kaden had an eventful day. 

Earlier today he did some physical therapy. He was able to move from the bed to the chair in the room and sit there for a couple of hours. He was also able to walk down the hall and back. The physical therapist said that his goal for Kaden was just to get him to the door of his room, so he was happy that Kaden was able to go as far as he did.

Unfortunately, we think he over did things because he has had pretty bad nausea tonight. The ICU doctor prescribed him some phenergan (anti-nausea) medicine, but for whatever reason she prescribed it in a suppository form and not an IV form. So they spent some time trying to track her down to change the orders. 

Meanwhile, Kaden was pretty sick and we thought he was going to vomit all over. Luckily, he was able to hold out and we were finally able to give him something for the nausea. They also gave him a different pain medicine. They think the pain medicine he has been on might be causing the nausea, so we are trying something different. It's all trial and error, as everyone reacts differently to different things. 

We are trying to figure out what is causing the nausea.  It might be the pain meds, the moving around, the fact that he hasn't eaten anything for a couple of days, or a combo of all 3.  

With the new meds, he has been able to sleep a little bit and for now we have everything under control. Keeping fingers crossed that we can keep on top of it! :)

April 1st 8:00am

Kadens surgical team team came around this morning for rounds. They checked his incision and all his vitals. They said that he looks really good on paper and in person. 

They said he could start to slowly eat some ice chips here and there. The plan is to have him up and walking a bit today. Not sure Kaden is totally on board with that plan, but he will do his best. He doesn't get to eat anything until his bowels wake back up, which will likely be later on next week so the ice chips are at least something he can do. 

He is very tired. He will wake up and talk here and there, but falls back to sleep pretty quickly. No nausea since earlier this morning and still very comfortable pain wise with the epidural pump. 

He will most likely sleep the rest of the morning and we will see what late morning/early afternoon brings as far as him moving around. 

April 1 4:00am

Kaden has had a pretty good night. He has been able to sleep and mostly keep comfortable. 

He has had some pain here and there, but when it comes he just presses a button and the epidural administers some medication and he feels better pretty quickly. 

They did an assessment at 4am and checked all his vitals, shifted him in bed, asked lots of questions and administered some more meds through his IV. He was pretty awake and coherent and was actually able to open his eyes. (Earlier they were just too heavy because the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet.) All of the hubub actually made him a bit nauseous, so they gave him some meds to keep that at bay. 

He is back to sleep now and will hopefully be able to get a few more hours rest before the doctors and students start making their rounds.