As many of you have probably heard by now, Dick had a stroke on Monday, August 29. Dick and Sharon were getting ready to leave for Indianapolis when Dick began to have trouble speaking. He was able to think of the words that he wanted to say, but he was unable to say them. Sharon asked him to smile and noticed that the left side of his mouth did not move. When he stuck out his tongue, it also favored the left side. They quickly took Dick to West Chester Hospital, which thankfully is only a few minutes away from their house. Dick was diagnosed with a stroke and admitted to the hospital.
After various tests, the doctors determined that the stroke was not directly related to Dick's brain tumors and that there was no brain hemorrhage. They also determine that the blood vessels running to his brain are very clear (less than 20 percent constricted). This means the stroke was mostly likely the result of a blood clot. As we unfortunately are aware from past experience, cancer and the related treatments has increased Dick's likelihood for blood clots. The speech therapists indicated that Dick has Broca's aphasia, which means his brain can process language and his muscles are capable of speech, but he has trouble relaying the message from his brain to his muscles.
Dick was hospitalized in West Chester from Monday through Friday (Bryan, Leslie and Jackson arrived on Monday night to help Sharon). His condition improved each day with speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. By the end of the week, Dick was moving pretty well and was able to slowly form complete sentences and thoughts. He still has quite a bit of rehabilitation to do, but he has repeatedly expressed his desire to pursue an aggressive rehab plan. In addition to the speech issues, Dick has trouble recognizing things on his left. For example, it is difficult for him to recognize keys on the left side of his laptop or BlackBerry when he tries to type. Bryan has helped him type some e-mails, but as Dick's P&G colleagues can imagine, he is frustrated that he cannot do this on his own. Dick's mind appears unaffected by the stroke -- even on Monday, he was able to understand everything that doctors and visitors said to him. Since then, he has weighed in on his treatment options, addressed some work issues, talked sports with Bryan, and even cracked a few jokes.
On Friday, Dick was transferred to the Mercy Hospital rehabilitation facility in Fairfield, where he is expected to stay for several weeks. While at Mercy, he will receive aggressive physical, occupational and speech therapy several times each day. He also should be able to begin receiving the oral chemotherapy drug that he was scheduled to start on Monday in Indianapolis. Because the drug was recently approved by the FDA, it is no longer necessary for him to travel and be part of the study in order to receive it.
We are optimistic about Dick's recovery prospects. He suffered a setback today and is having more trouble communicating. We will keep you posted via the blog and other social media channels. As always, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
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The Clark Family
About Dick
This section provides background on how my cancer was discovered and a few key dates associated with the 2-year journey.
In mid-August 2008, I was taking a shower when I coughed up a small amount of blood. I would probably not have gone to the doctor for that alone, but I already had an appointment for allergy problems. I mentioned it to the doctor at the end of my exam. He thought it was probably nothing, but recommended that I go for a chest x-ray.
An HOUR after the x-ray, he called to say that there was a mass and I should schedule a CT scan immediately.
That led to a visit to the pulmonary doctor, who did a bronchoscopy and a PET scan. On Sept. 10th, he diagnosed me with "non-small cell" lung cancer. The tumor is somewhat larger than a golf ball.
For perspective, I have NEVER smoked. Only 15% of those with lung cancer are non-smokers, and less than half of those are men. Needless to say, I am in the minority in terms of people that get lung cancer. Never the less, it is very real and must be treated aggressively.
On Sept. 29th I had surgery to remove the upper right lobe of my lung, as well as three lymph nodes. The surgery took 2+ hours. I was in the hospital for four days.
On Wednesday October 1 we learned that the pathology report was not good. In addition to the cancer in the upper right lobe of my lung, there was also cancer in at least one lymph node. The pathology clarified that the cancer is adenocarcinoma. While lung cancer is normally associated with smoking, about 10% of the people with this particular type of cancer are non-smokers.
Following surgery, I had chemotherapy from Nov 2008 - Jan 2009, then radiation in Feb & Mar 2009. Scans from May 2009 - Feb 2010 were "clean" with no cancer. On June 2, 2010, an MRI showed a brain tumor. The older updates to this blog track the progress during recovery from surgery, as well as initial chemo and radiation treatments. The more recent entries provide updates on the 2010 brain tumor and treatments.
In mid-August 2008, I was taking a shower when I coughed up a small amount of blood. I would probably not have gone to the doctor for that alone, but I already had an appointment for allergy problems. I mentioned it to the doctor at the end of my exam. He thought it was probably nothing, but recommended that I go for a chest x-ray.
An HOUR after the x-ray, he called to say that there was a mass and I should schedule a CT scan immediately.
That led to a visit to the pulmonary doctor, who did a bronchoscopy and a PET scan. On Sept. 10th, he diagnosed me with "non-small cell" lung cancer. The tumor is somewhat larger than a golf ball.
For perspective, I have NEVER smoked. Only 15% of those with lung cancer are non-smokers, and less than half of those are men. Needless to say, I am in the minority in terms of people that get lung cancer. Never the less, it is very real and must be treated aggressively.
On Sept. 29th I had surgery to remove the upper right lobe of my lung, as well as three lymph nodes. The surgery took 2+ hours. I was in the hospital for four days.
On Wednesday October 1 we learned that the pathology report was not good. In addition to the cancer in the upper right lobe of my lung, there was also cancer in at least one lymph node. The pathology clarified that the cancer is adenocarcinoma. While lung cancer is normally associated with smoking, about 10% of the people with this particular type of cancer are non-smokers.
Following surgery, I had chemotherapy from Nov 2008 - Jan 2009, then radiation in Feb & Mar 2009. Scans from May 2009 - Feb 2010 were "clean" with no cancer. On June 2, 2010, an MRI showed a brain tumor. The older updates to this blog track the progress during recovery from surgery, as well as initial chemo and radiation treatments. The more recent entries provide updates on the 2010 brain tumor and treatments.
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1 comment:
Love and prayers to you and your family.
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