Celebration

Today, the Woodruff 4 is celebrating Dana's Sweet Sixteen Birthday. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. It is a wonderful day!

In our house, it is tradition to make the birthday person's favorite meal for their birthday. Tonight, we are having Mostaccoli, Salad and cheese garlic bread. Dana also wanted an ice cream cake this year.

In this moment, we are a normal, happy family cheering for our 16-year-old on her birthday. We will laugh, talk and all will be right in our world......

Love to all,
Deb

"Cancer, you blinked!"

We are staring down the barrel into the heart of this monster and Cancer blinked. Denny finally caught a break in this battle we are waging. The PET scan came back clear! The cancer has not spread to any other area. It is still only in the sinus cavity. This is great news!

The surgery is still scheduled for the morning of May 13th. We will post more info later as the details are resolved. The doctors have their plans in place. All of the questions we emailed in advance were answered. Denny faces some serious challenges in the days ahead. There is no doubt in my mind he can beat this. When I think of him, words like "courageous, indomitable, and determined" come to mind. What do you think? Keep the comments and emails coming! We love hearing from the "Team".

A big "Thank you!" to our neighbor, BJ, for staying with Dana and Daniel while we were gone. She makes it easy for us to do what we need to do. Another "Thank you" to "Grandma Betty", our other neighbor. I see her homemade cinnamon rolls have made their way into our kitchen! We also enjoyed Jodee's scrumptious Strawberry pie. It is surely a blessing to have such special people for neighbors. We're surrounded by one big hug!

It's late now and we just got back to Nashville. Our lives will continue as they always have. We won't give in or back down. Our finger is on the trigger, aiming for the target and we won't miss. We are going to win this fight!

Go, Denny!

Love to all,
Deb

Getting Ready

We are getting ready to leave for St. Louis tomorrow. Denny is going into work and I will pick him up about 3pm.

In preparation for the doctor appointment on Tuesday, we emailed our list of questions to the doctor. We want to make sure every question is answered before the surgery on May 13th.

We would like to thank everyone for the wonderful emails, comments and phone calls. I hope you know how much this helps us keep our positive mental attitude. Each and every one of you are links in the armor keeping Denny strong.

I will post the results of the doctor visit as soon as we get back. Stay tuned!

Love to all,
Deb

"Out of difficulties grow miracles." - Jean de la Bruyere

Chicken Soup for the Woodruff Soul

Nashville is experiencing some very strong storms today. News has been heavy with "tornadic activity, straight line winds of 60 mph, and hail". Who cares? These 4 Woodruff's are enjoying the day anyway! There have been no doctor calls, requests for paperwork, or insurance hassles.

I'm making homemade chicken soup for my little family. We are going to watch some movies and, maybe, work on some of our projects that we have had to let slide. Whatever we do, it will be quiet, relaxing, and together. Carpe Diem!

Love to all,
Deb

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." -Henri Matisse

Surgery Date Confirmed

I just spoke with Dr. Haughey's assistant and she said his surgery is confirmed for Thursday, May 13th at 7:30am. We have to be there earlier in the morning so we will come into St. Louis on May 12th. They are not going to take him the day before because the anesthesia pre-surgery testing will be done when we go back for the PET scan on April 27th. There is still the possibilty Denny may go in the night before and that will be discussed at the appointment with Dr. Haughey on April 27th as well.

The plan now is that Denny and I will go to his sister, Anita's, on May 12th. We will spend the night there and check in at the hospital at 5:30am on May 13th. During the time that Denny is in intensive care, I will be staying at Anita's. She is the closest to the hospital.

My mother, Sandy, will be coming in from southern Missouri to stay with Dana and Daniel. She will be with them during Denny's surgery as well as the recovery period we will be doing in St. Louis. Thanks, Mom! You and Dad are always there for us.

Our wonderful neighbor, BJ, has taken good care of them for us so far. She says they are her "adopted" grandchildren. Our whole family thanks you, BJ, from the bottom of our hearts. Love you!

Dana and Daniel are handling this very well. Denny is getting a lot of hugs, "love you, Dad's" and encouragement from them. Dan's confirmation is May 16th and we will not be there. He told me, "That's okay, Mom. I understand. We have to concentrate on getting Dad through this."

Things are moving right along. All the details are being attended to. All the doctors are discussing his case. Everyone assisting will know what their role is and when to do it. No stone is left uncovered. Denny is in the very best of hands!

The doctors will do as much as they possibly can but we feel prayers will do the rest.

"Miracles happen every day. Change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you." - Jon Bon Jovi

Love to all,
Deb

Digging for the Pony

When Denny went through this the first time, all of the studies that I read said that people with a positive attitude were the category with the highest survival rate. Since we are going through this again, I feel positive Denny is going to beat this thing and come out of this experience better than ever. I'm reminded of a story I used to tell my students when I taught as an adjunct instructor.

A King had young twin sons. Only one would be able to rule the kingdom one day. "Which one would it be?" the King would ask himself. So one day he took the boys through the castle. He stopped at a beautiful golden door; opened it, and inside were toys of every kind. It was a dream room for boys. He told the first son, "I will come back for you in a few hours." He continued through the castle and stopped at a large wooden door. When the King opened that door, it was full of manure, a pitchfork and a shovel. He told his second son, "I will come back for you in a few hours."

Time went by. The King went to get his sons. When he opened the first door, he saw his son sitting dispiritedly on the floor; playing with nothing. "What are you doing?", the King asked. "Nothing", said the first son, "I'm bored; there is nothing in here that I want to play with." The King said, "What? You mean there is NOTHING in here that is interesting to you?" "No", replied the son. So they went to get the second son.

When they arrived at the wooden door, the King opened it and was amazed by what he found. The second son had his sleeves rolled up and was busily shoveling manure. The King said, "What are you doing?" The second son said, "Well, Dad, I just figured that with all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!"

This sums up what I think about the situation Denny and I find ourselves in. Right now, we are digging through the manure. I'm also quite sure we will find the pony!

Love to all,
Deb

Game Plan

Instructions are still pouring in. Denny has to be in St. Louis again on April 27th to do a PET scan. The doctors want to rule out the possibility that this cancer has moved to other locations. They don't believe that it has. They just want to rule out all unknowns.

After the PET scan, Denny & I will meet with Dr. Haughey (pronounced "Hoe-eee") and go over the entire procedure in detail. The surgery date still has not been scheduled. However, they are looking at May 13th or May 14th. We will post the date as soon as it is confirmed.

"Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning" - Winston Churchill

The Results Are In

Denny's appointment was changed to April 20th. In addition to seeing his ENT, Dr. Haughey, he also was seen by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael Chicoine.

The results of the biopsy are complete. The tumor is malignant and is the same cancer that he had originally; Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma (SNUC). It is not known if this is part of the original cancer cells or if this is a new form. Dr. Haughey said there is no way to tell. He did say the original cancer site is still clear. He biopsied that area in addition to the region that it is now in.

The new cancer site is in the roof of his sinus cavity which is also the base of his frontal lobe. The cancer is not in the brain. It is just bumping up against it. The doctors, Haughey & Chicoine, are going to team up and go in to surgically remove it. That is good news. Last time, the tumor was inoperable.

The question of radiation and chemotherapy came up in the course of our discussions. Both doctors felt neither would be effective this time. Denny cannot have any more of the radiation he received the first time. Chemo has to be handled carefully with this type of cancer. Last time they were only able to give him 4 rounds of chemo because this type cancer tends to turn on the chemo and possibly accelerate tumor growth.

The operation that is planned is very intricate. Denny will be in surgery all day. He will be in the hospital for about 7-8 days with 1 or 2 of them being in intensive care. The surgery will be done at Barnes Jewish in St. Louis. The doctors are meeting tonight to refine their plans in what is known as "The Tumor Board". Denny's case will be discussed between all of the doctors to get the final plan in place. The date of surgery is unknown at this time. Dr. Haughey, the lead doctor of Denny's team, is out of town next week, so we suspect the surgery may be scheduled for the first week of May. Please check back as I will post the info as soon as it becomes available.

I'll leave you with this thought, "Denny may have cancer, but cancer doesn't have him!" Denny: 1, Cancer: 0

Love to all,
Deb

Facing the Enemy

Once again the specter of cancer threatens our family. Denny had the biopsy done on Monday morning. He came through it very well. They kept him overnight due to risk of bleeding. I'm glad they did because he was having some seepage and they kept an eye on that. He was also on a breathing machine that helped keep him comfortable.

We go back to Siteman Cancer Center on Wednesday, April 21st, to get the results. The pathology lab needed 5 days to examine the biopsy specimens. The doctor said, "With his history, malignancy is what we are thinking."

Even though things are looking scary right now, I believe everything is going to work out fine. We'll keep saying prayers and working with the doctors. There are better days ahead!

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." - author unknown

The Odyssey Begins

On April 6, 2010, Denny had an MRI done at the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. When his doctor viewed the film the next day, it showed a 3cm. tumor in his left nasal passage behind his left eye. (In front of the area where the previous cancer was.) The ENT doctor ran a scope into the area to take a closer look. He decided that it could not be diagnosed based on a visual examination. A biopsy is tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 12th.

He is, once again, in the hands of the same doctors that saved him in 2004. We feel confident that everything that can be done, is being done.

We are going to keep the updates on this blog so that everyone will have up-to-the-minute information. It will help to keep us from repeating the same info over and over. Hopefully, everyone will understand that we appreciate the support but it becomes wearing to have to keep talking about it.

We also request that any phone calls be directed to our home phone. Denny's cell phone is a work phone; paid by the federal government. Deb's cell phone has limited minutes that get used up with doctor related phone calls. Thank you for understanding. We're looking forward to having you as part of the team!