The Simpson Blog

One day I feel I’m on top of the world And the next it’s falling in on me I can get back on I can get back on One day I feel I’m ahead of the wheel And the next it’s rolling over me I can get back on I can get back on - Rush, " Far Cry " A rough week got a whole lot rougher. "From an oncological standpoint, it was successful," said Dr. Akira Sugimoto after Amanda's surgery. She was in the operating room for about eight hours. The first two were spent trying to get her hooked up to the required anesthetic, including an epidural line for pain relief. That was the first difficulty, but wouldn't be the last. It was a long wait as we stood by at the hospital for any word on how things were going. Dr. Sugimoto, appearing to have done a whole lot of work, told us that he removed all the cancer he was after. That was the big good news. He also took out a kidney. That was fine -- that was expected. He also took out about a foot of bowel

Well, the nasty bugger came back. Amanda's tumours were mostly stable while on the aromatase inhibitors, but there was this one gob of disease that wouldn't stay put. For a while, we all thought it was the carcass of the abscess that was left after her hysterectomy. But it was actually a tumour. It grew and grew, and it's grown to the point where it's causing her pain as it presses on neighbouring organs. The latest MRI reveals that it's "invading" neighbouring organs, too. It's worse than we figured, but the docs say they can handle it. With surgery. Our surgeon is simply excellent so far. Dr. Akira Sugimoto doesn't just have the chops in the OR -- he's one of the most empathetic and caring medical professionals we've ever encountered. We're confident in his skills, and just as importantly, he gives a damn SO hard. The surgery ahead tomorrow at Victoria Hospital will aim to remove all the disease they can safely take o