![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Insert Witty And Meaningful Title Here...
Aug. 10th, 2006 10:40 pmThere's been so much shit and drama around this house, I haven't been able to rise above it and think about much else. I'm glad I have LJ to rant and spew about it, even if nobody cares, or thinks I'm an idiot for doing it. Bitching about the lady in the basement is pretty much the only thing I want to do here. I need the outlet and releasing the incredible amount of rage I feel is very helpful. I'm grateful for any support I get.
I read everything everyone has to say, I just don't have anything to add to any conversation right now.
Things back in Madison aren't that great. My older brother, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last winter, had been doing really well. He went through radiation and several rounds of chemo, and it didn't knock him flat. The tumor shrank quite a bit, and we was able to go back to work (as a sheriff's deputy). A few weeks ago, however, he had a blockage in his bile duct, which was not caused by the cancer itself, but by scar tissue built up around the surgery site. It took three painful tries to get a drainage tube installed, but that finally seems to be in place and working. My folks report that he's lost another 20 pounds since I last saw him in May. The cancer doesn't seem to be growing or spreading at this time, but still, it's a setback, since he had to stop chemo while dealing with getting the drain installed.
This isn't a type of cancer you can beat and walk away from, it's one you just beat back for as long as you can, and you live as well as you can, till it finally wins. If they hadn't discovered it when they did, or if he'd not been able to endure (or afford) the aggressive treatments, he'd surely be dead by now. Maybe he'll have several years, no-one can say for sure.
I'd gotten complacent, gotten lazy about calling home, hadn't checked in for a while. I talked to my folks and they reported on the latest goings on. They're worried. I finally got a hold of my brother a couple days ago. He sounded good. Still very strong and positive. Looking forward to feeling well enough to go back to work in a week or so. He wanted to hear all my latest news and gossip, so I told him. I felt a bit guilty unloading some of the house-drama, but he was glad to hear about something besides his own stuff.
And that's where I'm at.
I read everything everyone has to say, I just don't have anything to add to any conversation right now.
Things back in Madison aren't that great. My older brother, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last winter, had been doing really well. He went through radiation and several rounds of chemo, and it didn't knock him flat. The tumor shrank quite a bit, and we was able to go back to work (as a sheriff's deputy). A few weeks ago, however, he had a blockage in his bile duct, which was not caused by the cancer itself, but by scar tissue built up around the surgery site. It took three painful tries to get a drainage tube installed, but that finally seems to be in place and working. My folks report that he's lost another 20 pounds since I last saw him in May. The cancer doesn't seem to be growing or spreading at this time, but still, it's a setback, since he had to stop chemo while dealing with getting the drain installed.
This isn't a type of cancer you can beat and walk away from, it's one you just beat back for as long as you can, and you live as well as you can, till it finally wins. If they hadn't discovered it when they did, or if he'd not been able to endure (or afford) the aggressive treatments, he'd surely be dead by now. Maybe he'll have several years, no-one can say for sure.
I'd gotten complacent, gotten lazy about calling home, hadn't checked in for a while. I talked to my folks and they reported on the latest goings on. They're worried. I finally got a hold of my brother a couple days ago. He sounded good. Still very strong and positive. Looking forward to feeling well enough to go back to work in a week or so. He wanted to hear all my latest news and gossip, so I told him. I felt a bit guilty unloading some of the house-drama, but he was glad to hear about something besides his own stuff.
And that's where I'm at.
