THE WORD CANCER

The word cancer strikes the fear in most everyone. For me, the word left me in a state of wonder. It all started when Bruce found a lump in his testicle. He said it felt different than the other side. He put off going to the doctor so he could get through being Grand Commander for the state of MN. He finally allowed me to call and make a doctor appointment for him. From there the month of august whizzed by.

Upon seeing the doctor, he was immediately sent to have an ultrasound. By the time he got home from that, the phone was ringing as he walked in the house and was told he had an appointment with a urologist in half an hour. So out the door he went to Burnsville. Two days later he was scheduled for surgery on August 7.

The morning of August 7 was a little chilly and I decided I needed to wear jeans if I was going to be sitting in a hospital all day. We had to be there at 10:45 AM for 12:15 PM surgery. A few minutes after we arrived, Bruce was called upstairs to be prepped for surgery. I would be paged when he was ready. I could sit with him until they took him into surgery. Well, 12:15 came and went as did 1:15. Apparently, Dr. Borgen was running a bit late. Finally, at 2 PM Bruce walked to the operating room and I went downstairs to wait. I would be paged again when the surgery was done and Dr. Borgen would come out to talk to me.

The doctor walked in the room and I listened very intently. He described something called a seminoma. It is one type of testicular cancer. He explained it is 97% curable which was a song to my ears. But, I still had to tell Bruce. I went back downstairs until Bruce was ready to come out of the recovery room. I called the girls and told them their dad was out of surgery. They wanted to know what was found but I told them I needed to let Dad know first since it was all about him. I was paged again and had the task of telling my husband of 36 years that he did in fact have testicular cancer.

There weren't the tears or the shock most people experience when told they have cancer. I think we both already knew. He laid there eating his cookies and drinking his pop. He would still have to talk down the hall for the nurse before they would allow him to leave. He wanted to rest a bit so I went to make a couple of phone calls. One was to a close friend of ours and the other to Bruce's brother. When I got back, Bruce was ready to get dressed and be on his way home. Since he has had several surgeries during our marriage, he asked me if I wasn't tired of having to help him get dressed all the time. No, I said, it's just part of the package.

We got home and since Leanna was visiting, she had made dinner for us. Afterwards, she sat on the couch next to her dad as he told her the diagnosis. She quietly put her head on his shoulder and in the mirror I could see the tears in her eyes. I'm so glad she was visiting because I don't think I could have told her over the phone.

In the four weeks since the surgery, Bruce has had a followup visit with Dr. Borgen, a visit to a radiation therapy doctor and an oncologist. These last two doctors explained the benefits of having radiation or having chemo. Over Labor Day weekend Bruce would have to make a decision as to which treatment he wanted to have. If he does nothing, the odds of the cancer coming back is 20%, if he has radiation the odds are better at 5% and with chemo the odds are the best at only 1.8%. He researched with internet with help of Jenny.

Last night he told me to call the doctor and arrange for the chemo. He should be able to have the first treatment on Friday and then a second treatment three weeks later. I know he is scared. I am too. But, we have to believe we are going through this for a reason. We may find out the reason and we may not, but we have to trust God not to give us more than we can handle.

Yes, the word cancer can strike fear in a person. In us it brought an answer to many questions. We are now ready to face the future, put things in perspective and move on with our lives. I love you Bruce Brendal - you are my life, my love and my world.