Why we are here....

I never thought that I would be writing a blog like this about my husband, but here I am and we might as well start at the beginning.

Jason noticed a bump on his tongue at the beginning of November 2011. He thought nothing of it, it could be a cold sore. The bump never disappeared and the day after Thanksgiving Nov. 25th he said that it was much larger and sore!

That Saturday the 26th Jason went to a Kroger little clinic to see if it was a cold sore or an ulcer. The nurse practitioner said that it could be an ulcer or oral cancer. (He left the cancer part out when he told me!) She gave him a dose of antibiotic and a liquid called magic mouthwash and told him to get in to see his regular doctor ASAP.

Monday Nov 28th Jason went to our family doctor. Alexis said that she wanted him to try a steroid cream and if it was not better in a few days to get back in to see her right away!

Friday, December 2nd I went to the doctor with Jason. They did a throat culture to test for infection and Alexis said she wants him to have the oral cancer test. We needed to call our dentist to see if he does the test. THIS was when I first heard about there being a chance it could be CANCER.

Our dentist was closed on Friday so we had to wait until Monday to call and ask about the test. Jason and I both had googled oral cancer and were pretty certain it was that. There were a few photos that looked like it was his mouth. Neither of us said anything about our research until after the actual diagnosis.

Monday, December 5th, after the kids got on the bus I called the dentist and asked about the test. Yes they test for oral cancer and they can get him in fairly quick. I called Jason and told him to call to set up an appointment. I had my check up at our family doctor and explained to them that our dentist does the test and I would get back with them later that day with more info. Jason got an appointment with Dr Byerly (Our dentist) at 1:50pm that day. We got there early and they took us early. Dr Byerly took one look and immediately said he wanted us to go to an oral surgeon. He said he can swab it and send it away and in a week they would send back a "yes it looks suspicious" then he would send us to the oral surgeon. But he would rather bypass that and just send us to him now, then he said he would call to see if he could squeeze us in right away. RED FLAG! So we headed to the oral surgeons office. We were in and out of Dr. Byerly's office before our appointment time. We pulled up to the 2 story office building about 2pm and made our way to the oral surgeons office. We sat for a good 40 minutes because the secretary was at lunch and the other girl did not know we needed to fill out paperwork.

When they called us back the room was very bright and very empty. Not a very comfortable room. The nurse/assistant (sorry can't remember her name) came in and filled out a lot of information. Basically all the information I just listed above! The doctor came in and gave Jason's mouth a good look over......sat down and took what seemed like an hour to talk. In reality it was only a minute or two. He was 90% sure it was oral cancer. Well he used a word that I don't think I could repeat with practice, the "medical" name. We now have 2 options......The first option was surgery, hhowever when they remove the tumor they will have to take a larger piece than the tumor is. This means a large piece of his tongue would be removed which can cause problems with speech etc. Option number 2 was a chemo and radiation treatment in hopes that it will eliminate the cancer or at least shrink the tumor enough to do a surgery that will less impact his life/speech.

We got the confirmation that we knew deep down was coming...but it still does not prepare you for that slap in the face - the brick wall you walk head first into! I held back the tears and did my best to stay strong for Jason. I have to be his rock and be positive for him, I can cry later when I am alone!

This coming Friday December 9th (a day after Noah's 13th birthday) Jason will have a procedure done in the oral surgeons office. They will take a biopsy of the tumor and remove several teeth for treatment. The entire procedure will take about an hour and we plan on being there for 2 hours.

Let me take just a moment to let you know how AMAZING this oral surgeon and his assistant are! They were very soothing and did not hesitate to go out of their way to make this easier on us! The doctor wanted to walk us himself to the oncologist downstairs to introduce us, but he was with a patient and we wanted to leave rather than wait for him! (It had been a LONG day) The time was now about 4pm and we had to call my mom to pick Faith up from volleyball. His amazing assistant walked us down to meet them and said if for some reason they are not in our plan get a list and send it to her. They will circle the oncologists that they would recommend!

Now to bring this first blog to a close. We are doing OK. We are in a bit of shock and we go through all the emotions. Neither Jason or I slept much last night and I feel it today. I have mixed feelings about work, many people have their opinions and trust me I hear them all.....but this puts a lot on my plate that I already felt was a bit to full! Yes, I like my job and I know it will be an escape for me.....but I want to make sure I have the energy to do everything!

Last night I told Jason I love him and I will no matter what! I also told him that he will only be surrounded by POSITIVE people, so this is your one and only warning! We will have our pity parties as a family and will cry together, but after the initial shock it's time to be positive! I can not be responsible for my actions when acting out of love for him. He needs the positive thoughts, lots of prayers and happiness. THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING!

Thanks for reading, this will be our main source of updates so we don't have to keep saying the same thing over and over again. Thanks for all your warm thoughts and powerful prayers! We do appreciate every last one of you!