tess

Welcome Elizabeth, that is great news that you are doing so well post surgery… keep it up. The chemo affects everyone differently, so come back and share your story and challenges when you get there, there’s lots of support here. A lemon, for example, use to help my Dad, it countered the tastebud changes brought on by the chemo- so that he could better enjoy his food. The journey is a rollercoaster Elizabeth- no two ways about that!

Keep us posted, you’re in our thoughts.

Tess

Hi Jim, I too am sorry to hear about your friend. My Dad was in the same position and resection was not an option – said 9 out of 10 docs.- because of proximity of the mass to the portal. Chemo and radiation are other standard-potential options and as Marion has indicated multiple opinions are always a good idea.

Wishes for strength coming to you and your friend.

Tess

Hello Asif, two leading cc specialists at Mayo follow:

Dr. Gregory Gores
gores.gregory@mayo.edu

Dr. Boris Blechacz
Blechacz.Boris@mayo.edu

Appointment Office For Mayo Clinic (Rochester Minnesota)
1-800-446-2279 (toll free)
507-284-2111 (advanced appointment desk)

507-284-8884 (Mayo International Office- they’ll set up appt. for international patients)
Open 7:30-5:00 Central Standard Time

Asif, as you are calling/visiting from Pakistan, you’ll want to use the international patient number.

Wishing you the best,

Tess

Hi Deb, I am so sorry to read your post. I was there just few months ago, with my own Dad and there are no words to describe the heartbreak. A friend of mine loaned me the Hospice book “Gone From My Sight”. Because this publication is fee based, I can’t post the contents here due to copyright restrictions- but would be happy to share with you the highlights of this document, specific to ‘what to expect in the final days/months’, a fellow cc friend has captured it in digital format and I can forward that to you at your request. My family could not talk hospice, as my Dad would have no part of such conversations & never believed he was going to die- but I (privately) had the small book and Dad’s final days unfolded just as it said.

There is no way of knowing exactly when, you may not be there Deb. I can only speak to my own experiences, but I quietly said goodbye to Dad constantly- as he slept, in his final days, sensing his time was near. My own Dad was not as sick as yours, in fact he got out of his chair and walked on his own across the room to the dining room chair that Tues. AM- where he died in the arms of my brother and I. My Mom, his wife of 40 yrs., can not forgive herself for leaving the house for a 1 hour doc. appointment that morning. She was by his side always, but that is how it happened and it is certainly no fault of hers, as Dad could just as readily have survived another couple of weeks. I also contacted the Sacred Dying Foundation- in Dad’s final 24 hours, for suggestions on keeping vigil at the deathbed.

A final thought…. consider whispering to him everything that you have ever wanted to tell him, it is my sense that as our loved ones start to detach- their hearts hear our words.

You and your Dad are in my prayers Deb, and I’m sending you love in this most difficult time.

Tess

Hi Charlene, I am sorry about what you’re going through. I would suspect that the dreams are also part of the grief process, as I experience them myself. I cry more in the middle of the night and early morning, because of what passes the mind, than I ever do during daylight hours.

You’re not alone, and dreams can impact the pace of the whole day- so one can’t minimize their relevance.

Wishing you a speedy withdrawal!

-Tess

Hi Elaine, I sent a note to your Yahoo account… keep an eye out for the subject heading “Gary and second opinions”, as sometimes my Yahoo messages go directly to one’s spam/trash folders.

You’re in my thoughts…..

-Tess

Hi Amy, I’m crying with you right now, and so sorry for your loss and grief. You are strong to recognize the peace that exists for your Mom no longer suffering and so very human to want her back, to take away the pain. I know it hurts, you’re in my prayers.

Tess

You’ll remain in our thoughts and prayers Kay!

-Tess