Post-surgery

Hi Everyone - Matt here again.

This morning at 8 am my dad had his surgery. Unfortunately, once the surgeons cut in, the cancer was more widespread than they initially thought from the scans (although scans were clean, it's not an exact science and sometimes you can only tell the true extent of the illness once you're in the OR).  The team took a biopsy of some lymph nodes and awaited pathology in real time.  The pathology came back indicating that his nodes were positive with cancer, and so it was deemed futile to carry out the surgery as initially planned.  Basically, there's no benefit of putting my dad through a surgery removing half of his liver when they know the cancer has already spread. My dad was closed up and out of the operating room by 11:30.

Sadly, my dad's care at his point will likely be switched from a goal aimed towards cure to a goal more focused on palliation.  He will likely spend 4 or 5 days in hospital and then follow up with the oncology team after discharge regarding chemotherapy options.

My dad is doing well following the surgery, his pain is well controlled. This was a tremendously difficult and emotional day for our family, however, it was made easier by the tremendous love and support we are surrounded with. We cannot express our gratitude enough for all the love and prayers.