The Biopsy

We took Wally to his biopsy today. He did well, even though he did not enjoy lying on his stomach for it. We won't get the results until next week, after the long holiday weekend.

We have to go back on Tuesday morning for a "radiation simulation", so they can map out where and how they're going to do radiation treatments. The purpose of the radiation treatment is to halt the further progress of the tumor on his spine. The radiation oncologist is worried that it could spread to his spinal canal, and may paralyze him. It may also halt the progress of any other cancerous material that may be damaging other nerves. If so, it may significantly relieve his ongoing pain.

But the worst part for him is the driving: we have to drive 17 miles to and from the cancer treatment center, which is about 25=30 minutes. Sitting upright is painful for Wally to begin with, but then add to that the starts, stops, and bumps along the way, and he's miserable by the time we arrive at our destination.

Wally has complained about this, and asked why we can't get this done in town. We told him that our rural country hospital doesn't have facilities for diagnosing or treating cancer. We have to go to "the big city" hospitals for that kind of thing.

I guess we'll have to suffer through it, for now. My wife and I are concerned about how we're going to manage the routine commute to any regularly scheduled treatments.