Ironically, my
last post was about Anna’s taking many
pictures of me due to her fear that I would die and that she wouldn’t be able
to cope with it. As I wrote that post, I
could not have even imagined that, just over a month later, I would be the one
losing a parent.
Two weeks after that post appeared, I got the terrible news
that my father, seemingly out of the blue, had been diagnosed with advanced
pancreatic cancer, Stage IV, which had metastasized to his liver and
lungs. I felt a palpable shift in my
universe. I just couldn’t believe it. He was only 65. He was fit and healthy and wasn't a smoker and enjoyed exercising and had lots of energy. How could this be??
Things got worse over the next few days as we learned how
extensive the illness was and as I researched the nightmare that is pancreatic
cancer. Of course, all cancer is
terrible, but at least there are treatment options with many types of cancer. Sometimes, treatment works and puts people
into remission. Sometimes it just buys
time. But either way, there is often something that people can hold onto that
provides even just a little hope.
With pancreatic
cancer…not so much. It’s usually a silent killer – typically, by the time you know you have it, you’ve run out of
time for any effective treatment.
Sadly, that was the case with my dad.
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| Dad and me, June 8, 2014 |
He died on June 24, 2014. Less than a month after his diagnosis.
My world came to a grinding halt.
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