For Emily W., the worst thing about recovering the last eight weeks of the pleural mesothelioma surgery was not dull pain in his chest that never really goes. It is now tolerable.
It was not foggy brain that left her wondering if she even made sense when she talked to friends and family. This cloud lifted - slowly
There was not even the nagging uncertainty as to whether the cancer can start to grow within it .. Emily is an eternal optimist.
No, the worst was being without his dogs, four, adorable, playful dachshunds fun-loving, frolicking like it treats its children and are a large part of his life.
"I can not wait to get them back. It's a little sad to be here without them," Emily said recently at his home near Portland, Maine. "They all sleep in bed with me at night. Each has its place ?? there is a hierarchy ?? but I can not tell you how many times I woke up hung beside the bed because there was no place and they are all trying to stay warm. I miss right now. "
pleural mesothelioma surgery Recovery
Emily, 63, whose name was not granted on privacy, underwent surgery pleurectomy / decortication six hours in October that removed the lining around his left lung and removed all visible cancer. It was done at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston by renowned surgeon David Sugarbaker, MD, who lifted his confidence.
She refused monitoring, preventive chemotherapy, emphasizing the return of life to normal as quickly as possible. Assuming its review early January in Boston goes well, it expects to quickly recover his beloved dachshunds, who stayed with friends near St. Petersburg, Fla., Nearly 1,500 miles.
"Fortunately, I will feel well enough to go get them. I drive because it is the safest and most economical way to bring them home," she said. "Some people have children to worry about. I have my dogs. I did not think it was right for them to be here when I was not feeling well enough to take care of them. This thing (surgery) hit the crap out of me. "
Emily was not foreign to deal with the kind of heartache and grief that can follow a cancer diagnosis. She already had experience both professionally and personally.
Her husband died there nearly 20 years after a long illness, long after she became his primary caregiver. She became a surrogate mother to her niece and nephew of the wife of his younger brother died of cancer several years ago. And Emily spent the last days in Wyoming with his best friend, who died of cancer in June after three times told them that he was in remission.
Emily went home feeling ill herself, to enter the hospital with what she thought was pneumonia and a collapsed lung, before being diagnosed with cancer mesothelioma after weeks of testing.
"They did all the tests, and could not understand Finally, they said it was a kind of malignancy but did not know what I kept saying.." No, it is not no. I kiddingly told the doctors that it was something related to dog hair, or a dog nail, I must have inhaled, "she said. "I am shocked when I finally heard me say it was mesothelioma."
Renovation Hospital to blame for mesothelioma?
Emily believes his cancer was work in a hospital there for decades has been the subject of a major renovation, with daily inhaled asbestos dust. She spent 43 years in a career in nursing, giving an overview of the medical world some mesothelioma patients.
the first thing she did was leave his original hospital in Lewiston, Maine, and make a quick path to specialists Dana Farber / Brigham and Women's Cancer Center of.
"There were things that made sense to me that someone may have lost no medical history. And a lot of it, I did not understand. I can not imagine how overwhelming, how frustrating this process could be for someone else, "she said. "Somehow, I knew what I was getting into, but in a way I do not have it. I went into surgery with the mindset that I walk away all better, and everything would be fine in a few weeks. It was not easy. "
Emily praised Sugarbaker and care she received at Brigham and Women from, but she also believes not enough is being done to educate mesothelioma patients on what to expect before, during especially after surgery. For this, she turned to Karen Selby, nurse and patient advocate here mesothelioma Centre.
"I can not say enough good things about Karen and organization. It was great, the information and resources they made available," said Emily. "She filled all the gaps. By telephone, she understood what I was experiencing. We bonded. I found it invaluable. "
Emily laughs about it now, but the side effects of the surgery and anesthetic and initial narcotic left her feeling prepared for the first two weeks at home.
"My brain was like mush. The drugs made me looney. They really did. I would not take the drugs. I do not know if patients are really well prepared for the way they make you feel, "she said. "You wake up and start to think you're crazy. You have to fight through a lot. Pain management is not easy to maneuver."
Although she lives alone, Emily has two brothers and close friends. his, mellower old mixed-breed dog named Puppy was at his home throughout the ordeal, keep him company. its goal is the return of Vera, Quintessa, Boo and Bits, the four dachshunds frisky .
"at one point, I remember thinking that I would be back to work. I'm not so sure now. the worst thing is, I have not any endurance" she said. "You go there, and it effects your muscles, your endurance, your outlook. it is better, but it is a slow process, I was not really prepared for."
