Cancer Strikes Again: Grandpa

Can I just start out by saying how much I hate cancer????  I truly do.  I know I'm not alone.  I'm sure there's no one out there that says "Gosh, I sure do love cancer!"

Anyway...

Starting back in December, Grandpa was complaining that his mouth/jaw was hurting.  At the beginning of this year, he went to the doctor/dentist and they did some x-rays and decided to take out an impacted wisdom tooth. During this extraction, they saw a lump in his jaw (this was end of February/early March).  We didn't think too much of it but my mother called me today saying that the biopsy had come back and it was cancer.

My stomach flipped upside down and I was sick.  Not my Grandpa.  Please not him.

His primary doctor told him that thankfully we caught it early and when caught early, head and neck cancers (as they're calling this) are very curable.  That was great news to hear but hearing "cancer" just scares the crap out of me.  I felt better knowing this but I still had that nauseous feeling.

My Grandpa is 83 years old.  Which is "old" to some, but if you've ever had the pleasure of meeting my Grandfather, you'd be shocked to find that out...as most are.  At a glance, he most definitely doesn't look 83 years old.  And he's incredibly active.  He was still playing soccer at 65 years old!  He was bench pressing up to about 75ish years old (give or take).  He still currently golfs and is in a bowling league.   If you read one of my previous posts, you'll remember me talking about how he's always been so active and that's what has kept him healthy for so long (he's our motivation to keep ourselves active and healthy as well.)  So to hear he has cancer is devastating.  But I also know he's strong and he can handle this.  He's not your typical Grandpa.  This should be easy for him.  Or easier than it is for most.

Am I worried?  Of course I am!  Whenever you hear "cancer", your mind jumps to the negatives.  Cancer is a scary word.  It's the second most leading cause of death (behind heart disease).  And the older you are, the most scary it is.  While Grandpa is healthy, he IS older.  And his body has been through a lot lately.  If you followed that link above, you'll have read, or you might remember if you're an avid follower of mine, that in February 2012, Grandpa had his aortic valve replaced.  But even that proved how strong he is.  His valve had a defect; a defect that should have given out on him in his 40's, as it most commonly does for people with this defect.  But his lasted 40 years beyond that!!!!  And all because of how healthy and active he is.  At the beginning of March, Grandpa had a mini-stroke.  (I never mentioned this in my blog).  They think the stroke was caused from the heart, so they switched up some meds and he was good to go.  So he has had some issues, and while they seemed major, he battled it like a champ.  He recovered like a boss from them and completely amazed his doctors.  He's a true fighter.

It's reasons like this that scare me, but also give him confidence.  I'm scared because in the past two years, his body is proving that it's not young and not invincible as he appeared up until the age of 81.  I'm scared because it means his body is weakening and aging.  I'm scared this weakening and aging could hinder his progress.  But I'm also confident.  This recent past shows how quickly he can bounce back from things.  It shows how strong of a fighter he is and how determined he is to remain healthy and strong.

Talking to Grandpa, you'd never know he was told he had cancer.  He sounds amazing!!!  (I'm told he looks amazing too but I'm stuck here in Florida and they aren't the technology kind of folk so all we have is the phone).  He is still the same 'ol witty Grandfather I know and love.


While the doctor said this was caught early and things look good for him, I still ask for prayers.  He will need surgery to remove the tumor and we're unsure about treatments.  Right now they're thinking just some radiation.


Note:  I am writing this as dated on this blog, but will be posting it late.  My cousin Melissa is currently in Spain and won't be back for about a week, so we're waiting until she returns to go public with this news.  We don't want to worry her or ruin her trip.  It sucks to not use social media to ask for prayers, but I'm still typing this and will post it as soon as I can!  Until then, I'm spreading the word through texts and emails to ask for prayers.