Chronology - Part 2 of 3

Monday, Sep 18, 2006 - Fiona checks-in to UH. She settles in and mentally prepares herself for surgery. Any sort of surgery scares her, so this is a traumatic time for her.

However ... at 4.30pm, a mere 30 minutes before she is to be wheeled into the OT, the Anaesthetist comes into the room. Apparently, she knows very little about Fiona`s case. We get a little bit annoyed because surely she should have done her homework earlier. Hearing the details of Fiona`s condition and seeing the medical reports for the first time, she decides to have a conference with the surgeons. 10 minutes later, all 3 of them come in and declare that the surgery is risky and recommend that it be called off. We are suitably annoyed and confused at this point, having steeled ourselves for the surgery. Eventually, we agree. In lieu of the surgical Oopherectomy, they administer Zoladex instead to induce menopause. This needs to be repeated every 4 weeks or the effects will wear off.

Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - Prof Liam, a respiratory specialist comes in to check on Fiona. He decides that it is wise to do a lung tap to remove the fluid in Fiona`s lungs. Instead of the small amount of fluid visible in the X-Ray taken 2 weeks ago, about 1.3 litres is drained in the procedure. Prof then tells us that Fiona might not have survived the surgery scheduled for the previous day if it had gone ahead. We are shocked and then very thankful to God for stopping the surgery. It is only now that we understand why He permitted the surgery to be aborted. It is times like this that we are reminded that we don`t always know what God is doing, but have to believe that He has things under control for our good. (Rom 8:28)

Moving forward, the plan is to continue with the Hormone Therapy which will entail taking Zolodex to induce and maintain a menopausal state, and to add some Aromatase Inhibitors to fully shut down hormone production in the rest of the body. And to add to this, a class of drugs called Bisphosphonates will be also taken to counter the bone-degrading effect of the cancer and the Hormone Therapy.

.... to be continued.