Yep, this is going to be a rough time, and it's scary, but we are both committed to doing everything we can to beat this thing.
We will be checking in at the hospital tomorrow at 5:30am, and I was told to be prepared for an "all day" wait (they suggested I bring my knitting - wtf?!?!? LOL). The surgery tomorrow will remove more tonsils than I knew humans had and take biopsies from the throat and back of the tongue. This type of cancer starts in the neck/throat, and they are looking for the primary source tumor. That information will allow the radiation to be targeted as narrowly as possible for the best outcome.
I don't know exactly how long the surgery itself is expected to take. I believe that is mostly due to the fact that they are on a search and don't know exactly how long that will take. I do know they reorganized their schedule to add in Biff"s "priority" procedure. They will be going in through the mouth.
The plan is to bring him home afterward, once they've determined he can swallow okay and that bleeding is under control. There is a chance they will keep him overnight if there are any concerns on those points.
Removing tonsils from an adult is a much more difficult recovery than for a child. Poor Biff is going to be on soft foods post-surgery and throughout the radiation treatment and most likely for a couple months after. We have already prepared with a variety of soft foods for him to try out - and we've been enjoying as many solid favorites as we can during this week leading up to the surgery. A couple days ago we had gyros from our favorite Greek restaurant, Firehouse Taverna, where we had our wedding dinner celebration 4 years ago. Yum! Tonight, we plan to get carnitas from El Torito.
It was nice not to have any other medical appointments this week, after so many appointments recently.
We've been advised that radiation will start after a period of recovery from the surgery and some dental work that will need to be done in advance of starting the treatment (to avoid future complications due to the radiation treatment). They anticipate a course of 15-minute sessions, 5 days a week, for 7 weeks.
And chemotherapy will be simultaneous with the radiation treatment, probably by infusion once a week - but we'll learn more about those specifics post-surgery.
The integrated, coordinated care by his health care providers is very encouraging. As a dear friend pointed out, this is the best time in all human history to be facing this challenge. It'll be a miserable slog, sure, but we're going to get through it!
I'll be the main admin for this blog, and I'll do my best to keep the news up to date. Hopefully, Biff will chime in often. Feel free to share this blog with folks we actually know, but please don't post on social media. If Biff changes his mind on that at some point, we'll let you all know.
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