[RAILhead]

Just a quick request for you, my fellow musicians: please say a prayer, send a thought or good vibe, toward my Dad and family. I won't go on and on with the details, but the nutshell is that he was diagnosed with asbestosis in his lungs several years ago, and in the last six months, things have ramped-up to the point where the doctors fear cancer is setting in.

Obviously, we don't want to lose our Dad -- but what's really getting me about this, is that he *just* retired after working all his life -- literally. He started out as an insulator, and over the decades, worked himself into owning his own company -- we're the leader in our industry. He really is one of the most generous men you'd ever meet, and now that he's finally able to retire and relax after all his years of work -- this happens.

We're praying that he will have more time with Mom (and us), and that he'll actually be able to have a few "Golden Years" like he truly deserves -- without poor health.

We go in Tuesday morning for a consultation with the chest surgeon to come up with a game plan for how best to get a biopsy. There's an opening this Thursday at 2:30, and we're praying/hoping that he'll be able to have it done then -- otherwise, he'll have to wait 2 1/2 weeks for the surgeon to get back into town.

This has been like a ticking time-bomb to him, and it's really getting him down.

So, if you're so inclined, please send some prayers/thoughts/good vibes our way -- we would MUCH appreciate it!

[ghporter]

You got it! Best wishes to your dad and your whole family.

[Face Ache]

My mother-in-law recently died of cancer just two years after retiring. We should spend our twenties retired IMHO, rather than waiting until we're too old and infirm to enjoy it.

One of the first jobs I took as a kid was installing asbestos fencing. When I think back about drilling into those sheets, wearing a singlet and no mask...

Best of luck to your dad. I hope he's around for years yet.

[ghporter]

Yeah, timing sucks sometimes. My mom died just as my dad was retiring. That was really bad; they had so many plans for travel.

Anyway, your thread reminded me to call my dad and wish him a happy Fathers' Day. He just had his shoulder repaired after ripping a bunch of tendons in it. At 76, he fell on ice and instead of breaking anything he ripped tendons in his shoulder. Those guys are tough, and it sounds like your dad is one of the tougher ones.

[- - e r i k - -]

Good thoughts coming your and your dad's way Maury. Hope things work out!

[Atheist]

Positive thoughts on their way....

(losing a parent is rough, lost my mom when I was young)

[KeyLimePi]

I'll keep him in my prayers. People can surprise you so keep positive.

[Jawbone54]

Definitely praying for your dad, man. I know this is heavy for the whole family; I'll keep you guys in my thoughts/prayers as well.

Keep us updated!

[dcmacdaddy]

Good thoughts coming your way for your Dad and your family.

May you have many more Father's Day celebrations to spend with him.

[RAILhead]

Thanks guys -- I'll be sharing this with him, too.

[quesera]

I don't pray enough, but you've got mine.

[mattyb]

Hope all goes well RAILhead.

[ebuddy]

Praying for you and your Dad RAILhead. If you can or wish to, keep us posted on how things transpire.

[dav]

best wishes to you, your dad and family.

[angelmb]

I hope your dad can hear a prayer coming from this side of the pond. Best wishes to you, your dad and family.

[osiris]

Good vibes heading your way! I hope everything works out well.

[voodoo]

You got it of course! Good vibes sent to your father

Be strong.

[scaught]

All the best to your dad and your family...

[RAILhead]

Thanks again for all the kind words. Here's a quick update:

At the consultation, the Doctor didn't like the mass on Dad's side that 2 other Docs said was just a cyst. That threw us quite a bit. We've been praying/hoping that Dad could have the biopsy Thursday or sooner, but it got scheduled for this Friday. Then, on the way home, the office called and changed it to TODAY. Sweet!

So, the plan now, is for him to have the mass on his side biopsied as well as his lung tissue -- and the lung tissue will be gathered using the least invasive method, which is also something we've been praying/hoping for.

Since the mass on his side is so superficial, the Doc will be able to get a larger sample, and they'll be able to determine its malignancy by the time the whole procedure is over. The lung tissue will take 2-3 days to get results, but the Doc said he knows how to cut red tape.

So...at 12:30pm today, the biopsies will begin. We (and dozens of others) are praying and hoping that BOTH biopsies come back 100% cancer-free, and that we'll know this before the weekend. Seeing as how Dad's 67, we're also praying/hoping that this surgery will go well with him, and that he won't have any recovery issues.

In the past, as I've thought about my Dad's asbestosis eventually having its way with him, I was always focused on *me* not losing Dad. This time, though, it's been about him and Mom not losing one another just yet. He's been such an inspiration and blessing to so many people -- literally thousands of lives are better because of his generosity and compassion/love for people. Now that that he's retired, he has the opportunity to be an even greater help to many more people. It would be a cruel twist of fate to have that stolen from him by sickness. He's finally able to do things with Mom he'd previously been unable to do, he's finally able to spend more time with his grandkids, he's able to financially help people and organizations more than ever, and so on and so forth. We just don't want his "light" to be snuffed-out so soon. We want his inspiration to continue for many more years, and for it continue without the burden of cancer looming over his head.

Anyway, please remember us all today, and send your prayers/thoughts/vibes our way as we pray and hope Dad is found to be cancer-free.

Thanks guys,
Maury

[Cipher13]

I hope it all turns out for the best. I'm sure everyone here hopes so too, and we'll be thinking of him (and everyone else involved).

[Zeeb]

Hi Railhead--good luck to your Dad today on his biopsy. I hope it turns out to be non-cancerous and that it is truly just a minor cyst or something benign.

[Railroader]

Thanks for keeping us updated.

Praying for your dad, family, and you.

[- - e r i k - -]

Good luck to your dad! I'm sure it's nothing!

[@pplejaxkz]

I definitely feel where you are coming from. My father actually passed in 2000 from cancer caused by asbestos. I believe it's called Mesothelioma or something of that nature. I hope the best for you and your family. My thoughts are with you!

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by @pplejaxkz 

I definitely feel where you are coming from. My father actually passed in 2000 from cancer caused by asbestos. I believe it's called Mesothelioma or something of that nature. I hope the best for you and your family. My thoughts are with you!

That's what it's called. A malignancy of the middle layer of the lung's lining. It is not good, nor pretty. BUT... Asbestosis doesn't always cause mesothelioma; often the lung walls the asbestos off (sort of like with TB).

I was stationed in South Mississippi when the first asbestosis lawsuits started; the shipyard at Pascagoula was a big "customer" for those lawyers because of all the use of asbestos in ship building. Asbestosis is bad enough, but it doesn't always become cancer. Have faith and hope.

[Randman]

Good vibes going your way.

[Shaddim]

Sorry, missed this thread earlier. He'll be in my prayers and meditations Maury.

[MarkLT1]

Saying some prayers for your father, you and your family.

[RAILhead]

Well, we got bad news.

The would-be cyst that 2 doctors identified as such was really a malignant tumor -- and it's source was the lung issue. He said it was unusual, but not unheard of, and we're taking it as a good thing, because it meant Dad didn't have to go through a rough lung biopsy.

The entire tumor was removed, and they're going to spend 1 to 2 weeks doing all manner of stain tests to make sure they know exactly what type of cell we're dealing with, and then they'll be able to give him the exact type of chemo he needs. And no, this isn't mesothelioma.

The bad news is pretty obvious. No one wants to go through this crap, especially when you're about to be 68 in 2 months. Until we know what, exactly, we're dealing with, the idea of any chemo is crap. The GOOD, though, is that every other aspect of his physical makeup is fine: good heart, no other diseases/illnesses, etc. It was also good that he didn't have to go though the lung biopsy, and the pear-sized tumor (yes -- around 10 x 15 cm) provided PLENTY of tissue to find out what we'll be dealing with. Also, our family is one of the most tight-knit families you'd ever know, and we'll all be fighting this together every day, side by side.

So. Things didn't go as we hoped and prayed -- but we still have a deep-seated feeling that everything will be okay. We see the tumor as a good thing, and we now hope and pray the cell type will be one that will respond to chemo, and that the chemo wouldn't be too taxing on Dad's body. We're also hoping and praying that the next couple of weeks of waiting won't get everyone too crazy.

Lastly, thanks for the thoughts and prayers -- they really did help me get through this so far. The man's my best friend, and I hate to even think of what he's thinking through right now. So please keep us in your thoughts over the coming weeks, and I'll do my best to keep everyone updated.

Thanks everyone,
Maury (aka RAILhead)

[quesera]

Good luck, and congratulations on having a strong relationship with your father and family. I've got to work on mine.

[The Placid Casual]

I am so, so sorry to read this thread and hear of your news RAILhead, my heart really goes out to you. I am sending huge amounts of good vibes to you and you family. I am not a religious person, but I'll even be sending a prayer or 2 your way... I know first hand what you must be going through.

I lost my Dad to Mesothelioma lung cancer as a direct result of Asbestos exposure when he was 18 or 19. He was 57 when he died 3 years ago. Not a day goes by when I don't think of him, and what a huge danger Asbestos really is.

All I can say is, *keep positive* no matter what you face, it really helps, and tell your Dad to hang in there...

[ghporter]

Having gotten the tumor out, there is a lot going for your father right now. Chemo and/or radiation are not at all fun, but they hold a lot of promise for making sure that this particular tumor is all there is of this cancer, and that your dad will be able to recover pretty much completely.

More good thoughts and prayers headed your way, your family's way, and especially your dad's way.

[dustrho]

My thoughts are with you and your family.

My father-in-law died in March 2007 from lung cancer. He was diagnosed in January with stage 4 lung cancer (no signs of it before that) and died about two months later. Since I still have my parents, that was the absolute hardest thing I've had to deal with in my lifetime. I really miss the guy.

[rickey939]

Sorry to hear about this Maury, you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

[- - e r i k - -]

Sorry to hear that it turned out not quite as hoped. Keep positive as much as you can. Hope every thing works for the best possible outcome still.

[rickey939]

Any update on you Dad Maury?

[Kevin Dunahee]

Your father has my prayers as well, friend.

[RAILhead]

Yes, and I just posted about it on my main blog!

The GREAT news is that he DOES NOT have lung cancer or mesothelioma!!11! The bad news is that he still has a cancer: Large Cell Type B Lymphoma. The good news about that, is that this cancer -- since it's highly aggressive -- responds amazingly to treatment.

Other GREAT news is that we have friends at M.D. Anderson -- which has the best cancer team in the world -- and we were able to get Dad in to see the best cancer team on Earth (essentially). We're going back and forth, getting some final tests, and then we're having the final diagnosis appointment with the Doc on Thursday, July 10.

Long and short, the Doc says Dad is presenting the classic symptoms of this type of cancer, and unless something goes totally awry or Herman (the hospital that removed Dad's tumor) totally got the biopsy wrong, he has no doubt the odds are stacked in Dad's favor: 60%+ chance of full remission for life, 85% to 90%+ of sporadic treatment. THOSE ARE AWESOME NUMBERS!

But now we wait for the MDACC to finish up their research into Dad's tests, and then we go from there. Typical treatment is once every 3 weeks for 6 treatments, total -- and we'll probably use R-CHOP (which uses a new drug that dramatically lowers the effects of the standard chemo).

So keep praying and sending vibes that there will be no new discoveries or curve balls, and that we will continue to get good news from the Doctors.

More to come...

[Sherman Homan]

Well, that is a roller coster. My prayers to you and yours.

[OreoCookie]

Science rules!
Glad your father's type of cancer is treatable and his chances of recovery are good.

[Uncle Doof]

Never noticed this thread 'coz I wasn't here. Prayers going out there for ya RAIL.

[Cipher13]

Good to hear it, hope everything goes according to plan.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Thank God for science.

[rickey939]

Thanks for the update, GREAT news.