We saw Erik's medical team yesterday and the news is unfortunately not good. The tumors in his lungs are growing very quickly, and several are really large; pushing on his heart and trachea. There is likely cancer elsewhere in his body as well. They're going to start good old-fashioned chemo as soon as possible. He'll need to have a lot of lab work, heart and other tests, and have a port installed. Also the doctors need to do some tests on the tumor they removed, plus get insurance approval before they can actually start, so it'll probably be 2 weeks or so. If possible, he's going to also participate in a clinical trial using an already approved drug in a new way to hopefully complement the regular chemo treatment. The goal is to slow or stop the growth and to keep his quality of life as good as possible for as long as possible. There is no cure at this point.
On the plus side, his incisions have healed really well, and he got all the drains and dressings off yesterday. He's able to walk much more easily, and started physical therapy yesterday. As always his attitude is great! I'm so inspired by his quiet, steady determination!
We so appreciate all the thoughts and prayers, and your support in so many ways! Thank you so much!
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I'M STILL FIGURING OUT HOW TO REMOVE THE LINKS BELOW, BUT IN THE MEANTIME
PLEASE DO NOT SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA - THANK YOU!
