Phone calls

We were anxiousley waiting all weekend in for a phone call with news of what was going to happen next for Jeff. By tuesday, jeff couldnt wait any longer. He had a contact number for the brain tumor clinical nurse and so he gave her a call and left a message. On Wednesday morning she called him back and explained that the doctors planned to discuss Jeff's case at rounds that afternoon and decide on an appointment date. It wasn't a lot of information and Jeff had actually taken the waiting very well until now but after this phone call he kind of broke down. He needed more information and he needed it right away. He has been scared to think about what this whole cancer situation might mean for him and when he was told he had to wait even longer it was too much. I called the nurse back and told her we needed a doctor to phone us and explain to us what germinoma is, what treatment options could be, and what all this means for his future. She said she would have someone call us after rounds to explain a little more about his case and what they are doing or thinking in terms of treatment. Later that day we did get a phone call. It was the neuro oncology nurse and she explained everything to us. Germinoma is a cancer that doesn't have one set treatment plan like some of the other brain cancers such as a glioblastoma which is treated the same way every time. Every treatment plan is different with germinoma and that is why they need to look at Jeff's whole situation ( the bigger picture) to decide on a treatment plan from him. Usually germinoma is highly sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy but depending on the type and where it is, they have a lot of different ways they could deal with it. Right now they need to do further testing and most of that can be done in Cold Lake or Edmonton. It should take a few weeks for the testing to be done and results from those tests to get back to Calgary. After all the information is in, the doctors will discuss his case again in rounds and they will decide what needs to be done next. 

We wanted to let everyone know how extremely overwhelmed we are to see the love and support we have. I can't put into words how much gratitude I have for all the help and love we have felt. We know prayers are answered and we can feel your prayers working in our lives!