8:15 pm: Dr. Farnell just came in to talk to us. He’s a wonderful man; perhaps my favorite person today. He said Mom’s surgery went really well, and it was great to see that he was pleased with how it went. Mom was very coherent and asked him several questions. After he left, she said she felt like she could do the splits, but maybe not today:)
Dr. Farnell said that he was able to preserve the Superior Mesenteric Vein (SMV). He said that the tumor went right up to the vein but that they were able to peel it away. This is terrific news, because some of the CT scans Mom had looked like the tumor invaded the vein. At four centimeters in diameter, the tumor was larger than ones that Dr. Farnell normally removes. He said it was definitely cancer.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, they found microscopic cancer cells right up to the edge of the piece they took out. That means that there may be some microscopic cancer cells left along the SMV.
However, Dr. Farnell didn’t seem too concerned about this, and he said that follow-up chemotherapy may help. He’s going to set Mom up with an appointment with a Mayo oncologist in the next few days.
Dr. Farnell sounded happy with the surgery. He said he’ll be back in at 8 am tomorrow to reiterate what he said tonight in case Mom doesn’t remember it. For now, the kids and Terry and Tom and I are heading back to the hotel to order some pizza and to sleep. Dad will stay here at the hospital with Mom.
Thanks to everyone who has been thinking of Mom today. At noon today there were over 100 people checking this website. Most of the rest of the day there’s been close to 50. It’s really amazing to know that there are that many people directing their good wishes her way. Thanks so much, and good night!
~Althea
Althea, Bryan, Andrew, and Sylvia