Surgery Update

Surgery #4 is in the books!  The two spots were both removed and did not need skin grafts.  What a huge present!!  Jim said he only narrowly missed grafts as both locations were difficult to close.  He will need to be extra vigilant and baby that hand for a while.  The nurse told him he absolutely should not use it at all.  I am very impressed with my own personal restraint for not throwing something or screaming when I caught him holding the phone with it.  Jimmy.....  (Insert exasperated sigh and eye roll here.)

The two spots that were operated on were located on the top of his middle finger and on the side of his pinky on his left hand.  At this point, Jim is in the blissful place where the meds from surgery are still in effect.  Typically the night is harder, so hopefully his prescription will help hold him this evening.  Of course, should the need arise, we do have a new bottle of fireball, too.  

Jim's Left Hand - location "A" 12/15/14

Jim's Left Hand 12/15/14

Jim's Left Hand - Location B 12/15/14

To keep life interesting, Quentin came down with a fever yesterday.  Seriously???  He and I dropped Jim off at the dermatologist with only one tricky coughing fit in the car.  Q seems to be doing ok now with a low fever, a wicked sore throat, and cough.  How those boys like to keep me on my toes!!

I was a little bummed that I couldn't speak to the doctor with Jim.  I had a few questions about how this journey seems to be never ending and wanted to ask if there is anything else we should be looking into or trying.  The doctor told Jim there isn't anything else we should be doing to help.  This isn't a condition that can be remedied with diet, supplements, or homeopathic types of treatments, nor is it a situation that we can afford to waste any time on at all.  The doctor shared that his fear is Jim is going to grow weary enough of everything and give up.  Squamous cell carcinoma can be aggressive - spreading deeper and covering a larger area in a short amount of time.  Obviously, that would cause a much bigger problem for Jim!  In addition, there are no other treatments besides surgery and topical chemo cream that would be beneficial.  His doctor explained that radiation or other forms of chemotherapy would not be effective with this type of cancer.  So, while frustrated and exhausted, we cannot quit or get complacent with the process.  When his hand heals from this surgery, the plan is to begin topical chemo.  

So, in the spirit of taking things off of my plate, I think I am skipping Christmas cards this year.  All things considered... I'm running out of time and have no spare time anyway.  Maybe next year!  Hopefully, we will not be blogging about skin cancer then. Wouldn't that be awesome?!  We do hope all of our friends and family have a very Merry Christmas.  We will be keeping things low key and relaxing at the Leighty home.  Sounds delightful!