Cancer in Public

A lot has changed since I last wrote in January.

Rupert, the new dog, had serious health problems that were not disclosed by the previous owner so we sadly had to forfeit him over to a Cavalier rescue agency. He likely won’t live long so I am glad that he’s at least with a family that is prepared to handle his care.

Liam is actually still in a fair amount of pain and may need another surgery but we won’t really know until December of this year as they wait 1 year to revisit.

I did not win teacher of the year, but coming in tied for the second best teacher (out of 42 contestants) was pretty cool. I am a good teacher and nothing has changed from before I was nominated until now so I am who I am.

The one big thing that did change relates to Hopkins. I had my yearly MRI in February and the scans revealed significant growth of the tumors cyst and the tumor itself. We then changed our focus and started looking at Hopkins as a second opinion because my Cleveland Clinic doctor really should have caught this sooner and he wanted to perform the same procedure as before, which didn’t thrill me. We applied to Hopkins, Duke, Cleveland Clinic in Vegas, University of Miami, and Advent Health in Orlando.

Hopkins came back with a virtual appointment for May 30th (!). We did accept but hoped for something sooner. U Miami came back with April 4th so we went down for the day and met with Dr Ivan. Liam’s research says he performed 17 craniopharyngioma surgeries in 1 year and the only person who performed more was at St Judes (my tumor is normally found in children and teens). We liked what Dr. Ivan had to say so we have a craniotomy scheduled for May 22.

Liam booked an AirBnB in Miami that will house my parents, Liam, my sister, and Mac for 2 weeks. Hopefully it’ll house me for a little because I really do not want to spend 2 weeks in the hospital again.

The regrowth now makes me a cancer patient. The tumor is non-metastasizing malignant craniopharyangioma. Both surgeons asked if I wanted to be referred to oncology for chemotherapy. I declined. Which they both said was good because I’m too young for chemo. I will need radiation though. Dr. Ivan was not impressed that my initial surgeon from 2020 did not insist on radiation.

So, my last day at school for this year will be May 3rd. 11 teachers donated 18 days of paid leave so even though I’m approved for FMLA I will only miss 3 days of pay. People really are good.

Liam also got laid off but he already had another job lined up and he received a nice severance so while it’s a big deal, it’s not a concerning deal. He starts the new job on Monday.

And that’s our lives....