Update from Katie

Ok… Ken has had surgery to remove the tumor from his tongue, and lymph nodes from his neck removed and biopsied. Eaten more than his fair share of mashed potatoes and applesauce (yes… mixing them together, as well! Whatever floats your boat, I suppose…). I realize, there will come a time that instead of turning up my nose at such things, I will be begging him to do it, if all it means is that he’ll eat!

Next steps involve preparing himself for Chemo/radiation. To be honest, for many people, it is not the cancer that is the killer. It’s the treatments to FIGHT the cancer, and its side effects: Worst of all being the sore throat he is going to develop. It’s been said it will be the worst sore throat of his entire life. Along with what may appear to be a minor sunburn, extreme dry skin, and thick saliva (while his salivary glands are still functioning…) and eventually loss of taste. All of these side effects are going to lead to the one issue that will become paramount to his existence: whether he can or will eat. Thus… the need for the “insurance policy” of having a feeding tube inserted.

Let’s back up a step… Chemo will be administered as a liquid given in IV form. And rather than have to find a vein each and every time, patients have a “porta-cath” inserted into a vein near their clavicle. THAT little gem is basically unnoticed by the rest of the world… only the patient and his caretakers will know it’s there. (A “port” is nested into his vein, and left under his skin. It is pricked each time needed, rather than a full-blown venapuncture.) But it keeps him from becoming a human pin cushion. Chemo treatments are administered through it, and blood can be drawn from it.

So, it was determined that he would have both of these items, the porta-cath and the feeding tube, inserted during the same outpatient procedure. He’s got the O.R. time booked, and already under general anesthesia. (To note: the feeding tube is inserted at this stage of the game for a number of reasons… which is why I referred to it as an “insurance policy”. If it is inserted while the patient is still healthy, then it is in place IF and when it becomes necessary. When the sore throat precludes swallowing. When there’s no taste, and salivation has made chewing and swallowing next to impossible. However, weight loss can be severely detrimental to his recovery and he will need every bit of his strength “in battle”. If you wait until it’s needed, to decide to insert it, the patient can decline so far in those ensuing 10 days; treatment may be delayed, in addition to trying to perform surgery on a body that is compromised. Let’s not, and say we did. One feeding tube, coming up… or so we thought.)

Yesterday, Doctor Williams informed me when he came out that he was unable to insert the tube for Ken. Dr. Williams is not a gastro-enterologist, and this is not his specialty. They ask him to do it at the same time as the port, mainly as a matter of convenience. He is capable… just not the specialist. Anyway, he simply felt that given what he could visualize and feel, he was not confident that he could place the tube without nicking or otherwise damaging an intestine, or any other organ that might have been slightly in the way. He made the judgment call to ONLY place the port yesterday, and he is referring Ken to the GI specialists for feeding tube placement. (Trust me… Ken’s kind of ecstatic about this… but I assured him: He will have that tube. I have been told too many times now how important it is, and it will be a TEMPORARY inconvenience [I know, MY words… not in MY body. Easy for me to say? Perhaps…]. It’s basically yet another speed bump to hurdle.)

So, as of right now, radiation is scheduled to start on August 11, and chemo should begin within days of that. Radiation is a 20-minute treatment, 5 days a week, and chemo is roughly a 4-hour infusion once a week. The plan is to have the feeding tube inserted by next week sometime. Just still waiting for the “professionals’” to get back to us… gotta love insurance companies!