Hope

    Greetings, friends and family. First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to all of you who read the first post earlier this week. We continue to feel love and support from all of you. In this busy, electronic world we live in it can often feel like humanity and compassion have disappeared, but you have all reminded us that it still exists and thrives. I would especially like to say a big thank you to Nathan's former employer, S & L Food Sales, for stepping up to the plate and going beyond the call of duty and helping us out in very practical ways. The wonderful staff at S & L have arranged to provide lawn care services to maintain our yard and lawn since Nathan is not able to do so and they want to alleviate me from having to do it myself (plus, our lawn mower is currently broken). They have also organized a crew to come to the house this weekend and clear out our garage from the barrage of toxic chemicals that have been collecting for the last 50 or so years. By clearing out the chemicals, they also hope to stock our garage with various household items that we need (toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, laundry soap, etc.). We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
    There have been some new and recent developments in the care and treatment for Nathan. As I mentioned earlier this week, Nathan and his dad traveled down to Stanford to meet with the tumor board. The tumor board they met with focuses specifically on cancers of the liver. Liver cancer is a very difficult disease to treat. Because the liver works so closely with all of the other digestive organs (the gallbladder, pancreas, stomach, intestines, kidneys, etc.), once the cancer has spread to affect the entire liver, it is very likely that all of the digestive organs are compromised. It is also because of this symbiotic relationship and close proximity of these organs, that doing a liver transplant would be very difficult. Per the doctors at UCSF and all of our research and the oncologist here in Chico, doing a liver a transplant when it involves advanced cancer, would also require removing parts and pieces of other organs and there would still be a very high chance of the cancer returning very soon. The oncologist we visited with last week classified Nathan's liver cancer as being metastatic because the original site of the cancer started in his bile ducts and has now spread to other parts of his liver. Because the type of cancer Nathan has is very rare and aggressive (Cholangiocarcinoma), the chance of  it spreading to other organs is a major risk. Another delicate matter is making sure the blood supply from the liver is not released into the entire body and causing more possible complications. All of these issues are being balanced by not only the doctors at Enloe, but those at Stanford as well. The doctors at Stanford confirmed that sadly, Nathan is not eligible for a transplant at this time. They did, however, feel that it is imperative that his liver function should be and can be improved before starting his chemotherapy. This is something that the doctors at UCSF didn't feel was possible, so the fact that Stanford does is some promising news. The benefit of improving his liver functionality is that it may allow Nathan's liver to be more responsive to the impending chemotherapy which would undoubtedly prolong Nathan's live by some or a lot of time. Another benefit of delaying chemotherapy is that it will give us a couple of more weeks for Nathan to gain some weight back before his body undergoes the rigors of chemotherapy and would likely lose more weight. Since Nathan has already lost over twenty pounds, we want to rectify his weight before more is lost. The steps that Stanford plans to take for Nathan's care may make a huge difference. First, they will take a CAT scan of his torso and chest to ensure that the cancer has not spread to other organs already. After they study the images, Nathan will go back to Stanford where they will move the drainage tube from his liver to his small intestine. The justification in doing so would allow for his body to absorb more nutrients from the bile. Since all of this has happened, we have learned that the bile from the liver aids in absorbing important nutrients such as vitamins D, E, K, and A. Moving the tube to the small intestine would allow his body to absorb more of these essential nutrients. In addition to this, since so much bile and liquid is directly drained from his liver, the Stanford doctors feel Nathan will be more hydrated and healthier overall. Once all of this is accomplished and they are satisfied, Stanford will administer Nathan's first dose of chemotherapy. Our hope is to improve Nathan's liver functions enough to where he may be eligible for clinical treatments that will prolong his life even longer. I was disheartened that Stanford didn't have some kind of magical potion that Nathan could ingest and make all of his illness disappear, but we do have hope. Hope feels good.
    Holding onto hope and faith is all we have. Sometimes hope and faith come in unexpected ways. Sometimes they appear in a smile, a warm hug, or a gentle touch from a friend. As we go through our seemingly mundane lives, don't forget that you can spread hope. Hope that we are not alone and there is more to life besides watching movies, going out to clubs, buying new stuff, or getting angry at that driver who cut us off. Life is about making a connection with people and giving them hope that they are not alone. Faith that they matter in this world. Thank you for giving us that hope and faith.