Tag Archives: cancer

James A. Moore Could Use Our Help

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For those of you who may not have heard, James A. Moore has been diagnosed with cancer.  A GoFundMe page has been set up on his behalf.  I’ll let you read the details on the GoFundMe page.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Moore; I look forward to doing so.  The last time I attended World Fantasy, he was on the schedule but wasn’t able to attend. If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know I’m a big fan of his work.  Type his name in the search box to see my reviews. He’s one of the best horror and fantasy writers working today.

Even though Jim has insurance through his dayjob, I can tell you from recent experience that cancer treatment ain’t cheap and insurance won’t cover deductables and copays, never mind lost income from not being able to write and meet his deadlines. So if you can help out, please do so.  Give what you can, even if it’s only a few bucks. If we all pull together, we can make a difference. And if you’ve been thinking of buying one of his books, now would be a good time.

Jim, hang in there. You’re going to beat this. If you happen to see this post, know I’m praying for you.

 

For Valentine’s Day, I Got My Wife a Heart X-ray

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Am I romantic, or what?

Today was a another round of tests, followed by a visit to the radiology oncologist.  The chest x-ray and the liver ultrasound are standard.  As I understand things (insert grain of salt here), these tests check to make sure the breast cancer hasn’t spread and to make sure the patient is up for the radiation treatment.  One of the first places breast cancer metastasizes is in the liver.  I didn’t know this.

The results of the morning’s tests are positive.  Positive in this case is a good thing.  It’s not always in some of these cancer tests/screenings/exams.  Sometimes negative is what you want.

The radiologist went through everything with us, explaining how cancers are classified.  And not just Stage 0, Stage 1, etc., but the more detailed classifications.  I think I understood most of it.  I told him I’m going to use him as an example in class.  I have a lot of premed students,.  My exams contain a lot of explain-your-reasoning type questions.  I’ve been telling them they need to learn to write clearly and accurately because if they become doctors, they will have explain to a patient, the patient’s parents, or the patient’s children what the problem is and how it will (and won’t) be treated.  Today I saw an example of a doctor who was able to do that effectively.

Kathy is going to undergo six weeks of radiation therapy, five days a week.  Then she’s done.  The only thing standing in the way is getting the insurance taken care of.  That should be done in about a week.

The only negative is that she can’t leave during Spring Break next month.  I was planning on shipping the family (including the dogs) out for the week to visit family while we have the sewer line under the house replaced. My plan was to crash with a friend and not have to pay for a hotel.  That’s not an option anymore.  Of course since insurance isn’t going to cover any of the cost, a hotel is the least of the expenses.  I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Overdue Cancer Update

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This should have been posted a week ago.  Like when we went to the latest doctor in the process. Apologies for letting the day job get in the way.

The news is good.  It’s also short.  All the markers they look at in determining future treatment are what they want them to be.  The things that should be positive are positive, and the things that should be negative are negative.  To put it another way, we are looking at a best case scenario.

The treatment will be radiation and an estrogen blocker.  They started Kathy on the estrogen blocker that day and gave her something for hot flashes.  The last bit is disappointing.  I was enjoying the hot flashes.  For once we were in agreement on where to set the thermostat.

Kathy will have to have a chest x-ray and a liver sonogram in a week.  This is routine to make sure her organs are strong enough for the radiation treatment.  We aren’t expecting any bad news.  The radiation will be scheduled once the results are in.

That’s all the news we have now.

Helping Out a Brother in Need

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I’d like to thank everyone who has expressed support for my wife’s cancer battle, whether in the comments of the post or via email.  I’ve shared all of those comments and emails with her, and she is overwhelmed by the response.  We both greatly appreciate the support and the prayers.  We’ll have a better idea of how things stand later this week when we see the surgeon who’ll do the lumpectomy.

I want to make you aware of another situation.  A number of you are probably aware of Mark Finn’s situation, but in case some of you aren’t, I want to put a plug in for him and his wife, Cathy.  They both are facing some serious medical issues.

Cathy has Stage 3 ovarian cancer.  She is currently undergoing chemo and taking blood thinners to reduce a clot in her leg so she can have surgery.  That will be followed by more chemo.  Mark has two surgeries coming up himself.  They are also having Fun With Insurance.

Mark is an author and a leading Robert E. Howard scholar.  He and Cathy own the movie theater in Vernon, Texas.  As you can probably imagine, their dual medical situations have placed a real strain on them financially.  They’ve set up a GoFundMe account here.

Please consider contributing something to help Mark and Cathy out.  And not just at Christmas time.  Their insurance deductibles will reset next month, and surgeries and cancer treatments aren’t cheap.