The American Cancer Society - Relay For Life of Rockwall TX:

The American Cancer Society - Relay For Life of Rockwall TX:

About the Whipple Procedure

"The Whipple procedure (pancreatoduodenectomy) is the most common operation performed for pancreatic cancer and may be used to treat other cancers such as small bowel cancer. Surgeons remove the head of the pancreas, most of the duodenum (a part of the small intestine), a portion of the bile duct and sometimes a portion of the stomach. After the pancreatoduodenectomy, the surgeon reconstructs the digestive tract" (Mayo Clinic).

Can't keep a good man down...

Well, I guess that eight days away from the real estate business can really get a guy jonesin for some MLS updates (sarcasm). If it were me who had just had my stomach cut open and been pampered for a week by nurses, I'd probably still be milking it; not dad. Neely (my wife) and I were over at my parents for dinner last night and dad was propped up in his chair with the wireless laptop looking at real estate listings on MLS. And, to top that, he may be the first person in the history of real estate to get two (2) listings on the same day he was in the hospital recovering from a major surgical procedure. I guess it's just a testament that he's putting this thing behind him and going on with a normal life. Cancer is quickly taking a back seat to the good life. The after effects of the surgery are that he's still got a considerable amount of pain and little appetite. So if you're a condition-specific prayer warrior, pray for a full healing of the scars and pain. That will get him back up and around hustling those real estate deals.

I'm amazed at the rapid response to the blog. Thank you to everyone for the prayers and well wishes. Keep them flooding in and remember to let me know if you have other prayer requests. Though I created this blog for my dad, it would be selfish not to use the "traffic" of the site to create more opportunities for prayer.

Prayers and Praise: Lance Holland (pancreatic cancer), A.J. Wells (luekemia), The Ewing Family in Kansas (recent loss of family member to cancer), Cissi Scott (cancer free).

JAH

Update: December 29, 2009

For those who do not know or have not heard, my father was diagnosed with cancer about three weeks ago and underwent a major surgery last Monday. He has spent the last eight days at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas recovering from a surgery called The Whipple Procedure. The results of the procedure were conclusive that dad has Pancreatic Cancer (Stage II-B). The cancer is classified as "R1" which means that the cancerous mass was fully resected during the surgery and that there are signs of microscopic cancer cells which will be treated with chemotherapy doses of Gemcitabine(pronunciation: jem-SITE-a-been). They were able to get all of the cancer mass and all of the lymph nodes in the area out. His chemotherapy will be administered once per week for six months starting in late January after his body has healed from the surgery.

Dad came home from the hospital today and is now resting in the comfort of his own home without the interuption of nurses and doctors every thirty minutes. I was there at lunch and he's up watching TV in the living room and even walking around the house a bit. He is still very sore (as you can imagine) and is looking forward to a speedy recovery. He's determined to have his body in the best possible shape before starting chemo.

The most important part of this entire situation is that dad is both full of optimism and faith in God. He has relied on our Lord throughout this entire process and we will all continue to lean on the comforting presence of God as this continues. Dad is a positive God-fearing man and is determined to look this thing in the face and defeat it. We, as a family, are very trusting that God's will is in effect and will prevail. Dad, the doctors, our family, and wonderful friends have formed a team that will work together to stay positive and beat cancer.

If you have messages that you'd like to relay to my dad, please feel free to e-mail me directly at ja.holland@yahoo.com. In addition, if you are currently directly impacted by the effects of cancer (i.e. yourself, family member, or friend). Please tell me about it. I would like to include everyone on the Cancer Sucks Blog; because the power of prayer is awesome. Our God is awesome and the more people that read this will pray. So please, tell me about prayer requests you have as well in your own lives.

My first prayer request is for A.J. Wells, who is the little brother of one of my greatest friends in the world, Richard Wells, Jr. A.J., who is 3 years old, is currently undergoing some serious doses of chemotheraphy to treat Luekemia. He is fighting hard and I ask everyone to place him on your prayer list so that this brave little boy can beat Luekemia.