I was alarmed to learn the doctor wanted Mike to go directly to the hospital instead of to his office to see him. I guess the symptoms I had described over the phone were enough for him to suspect that my husband may have come out of remission from Hodgkin's Disease. He had been diagnosed with this earlier in his life when he was 17. They treated it with several weeks of Cobalt treatments. He had regular checkups afterwards, and was told if he didn't have symptoms after five years, he would likely be cured. I didn't know then how loosely that word had been used. After a month in the hospital and several weeks of tests, the doctor confirmed his suspicion. The cancer had returned and had also shown involvement in the liver. Fear took over as we held our two year old son and six month old daughter in our arms.
It was decided that surgery would be needed to assess the involvement and the size of the mass. Four hours later the surgeon came out and gave me the news. The mass was large and inoperable. Somehow, the tumor managed to grow between the gap of the previous Cobalt treatments. It was like a sheet of metal through the center of his abdomen. I will never forget the weight of the surgeons words, or the look on his face. The decision was made to close the incision. He held little hope.
It was determined the doctor's would try intensive chemotherapy treatments. Radiation was not initally thought to be an option. The doctor's felt Mike already had way too much radiation in the past. We prayed earnestly that the chemo would be our answer. The chemo treatments were really difficult. It was hard on Mike, and it was hard for us watching him suffer.
After a couple of months, CT Scans were done to see if any progress had been made. The doctor's were discouraged to find the mass had only decreased in size by 50%. A few weeks later, scans were repeated. Again, very little shrinkage had occured. So the decision was made to change the chemo treatments and increase the level given.
Six months later, it was determined that the Chemotherapy would not be enough to handle the problem. An appointment was scheduled for us to be counseled by the Radiologist. They were wanting to suggest that Mike receive radiation treatments, in addition to chemo treatments. We were warned that the levels of radiation, Mike had already had in his body, combined with the extra treatments they were planning on giving him, might begin destroying good tissue, or organs. We had little choice at this point and decided to go with the only option left.
Mike seemed to handle the radiation treatments well. The doctors and technicians were careful to aim the equipment just to the specific area, avoiding other major organs as much as possible. After two months of this, Mike was then scheduled for another CT to mark the progress made. In May of 1981, almost one year after this all began, scan results showed only scar tissue was left. The mass had shrank, the doctors were amazed; and we were overjoyed! God had given us a miracle. Today, it's been 18 years since that nightmare ended. Mike is doing wonderful and has stayed in remission. We praise God for answering our prayers.
When you walk through a storm,
Hold your head up high,
And don't be afraid of the dark,
At the end of the storm,
Is a golden sky,
And the sweet silver song of a lark,
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown,
Walk on, Walk on,
With hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone.
Words by Oscar Hammerstein II
