Welcome to A New Way for Nan

What is this blog and why are you here?  Well, it's likely that you know Nan Stewart and maybe you asked her how she's doing.  Maybe when you mentioned that you'd like to know about how she's doing, she gave you this website link to follow for the best way to get more info to check in on her.  Or, maybe you are friends with one of her kids and we gave you the link, because frankly, it'll be easier for us to keep you all up to date with what's up and what we know...in one single place.

First...for those who don't know all the details, the punch line is...Nan's got pancreatic cancer.

Now, as of this date, they're not 100% positive and won't be until they do surgery...but let's call it about 98% sure.  It's been a long road getting to this time and it's been a bumpy, roller coaster of a ride...not one of those kind you want to ride again any time soon.

It started in February 2014 with a pain in her gut that wouldn't go away.  A CAT scan indicated she had a mass on her pancreas and called it "worrisome".  Then she got the MRI and they saw no mass, but they saw an enlarged bile duct.  Negative testing kept pointing to the possibility of something else, but still, she felt pretty awful and her body wasn't behaving normally...some days worse than others...but some textbook type symptoms if one reads up on this type of cancer.  On top of all that...some pretty stupid insurance situations arising.

Then, on March 10, mom felt so bad that she took herself to the emergency room in Murrieta.  As it turned out, she was quite jaundiced...a sure indicator something isn't right with the bile duct!  More tests there confirmed some of the earlier tests with regards to a mass and bile duct issues and she was now to be scheduled as an inpatient to undergo an EUS, an Endoscopic Ultra Sound that would be able to go into the pancreas to take a biopsy.  They also placed a stent in the duct to help clear the jaundice and get that all flowing again.  She had been waiting as an outpatient to get scheduled for this particular procedure, but nothing was happening.  Now as an inpatient, she got a higher priority for getting this done.  However, more insurance ridiculousness ensued and they sent her out of her health care system to UC Irvine for the procedure they ended up having to specially contract for...all to end up being denied continued work with them and be transferred back to her system and a whole new set of doctors...who she's got to meet and consult with all over again to get the same basic answers and where they could have done the procedure all along and gotten started with any treatment several weeks earlier!  Much more frustration with that and several other insurance related issues, all to come back around to now...a new way forward.

Inertia had been broken and a plan developed.  She met with her surgeon and has had all the hard conversations with him and her family and she has clearly decided she wants to fight with this surgery...as she shared with me, she's a "feisty old lady"...which is good, because she'll need that attitude to deal with and struggle through successfully with all that's coming next...this new way.

The current plan is surgery will be on Tuesday, 3 June in Loma Linda...after arriving at 3am to check into the hospital! (Who checks into a hospital at 3am???...we do!)  The definitive decision will be made after the surgeon opens her up, they take a large sample of the mass for the pathologist to test and confirm cancer.  If the mass is resectable, the surgeon will then move to performing a pancreatoduodenectomy, commonly called the Whipple procedure.  This YouTube from Johns Hopkins has a great explanation of exactly what mom's been dealing with, what the procedure is all about and a bit about the ideal recovery situation.  It's almost 10 minutes long, but it explains it better than any of us can and I strongly encourage you to take a look!

It is highly unlikely that she will be up for visitors any time before day 3 at least, anticipating all will be going well.  Therefore, I will make every effort to keep this blog as up to date as I can with the latest information...in as brief a fashion as this first one may not be. :)  In lieu of visits until she's able, we absolutely welcome all comments made on this blog...they will all be read to her and otherwise shared directly.

In offering this tool to her to keep others informed, we worked on picking a the title for this blog...A New Way for Nan...because that's certainly what it will be.  A new way of moving through this world and beyond, to whatever comes next.  And what she would really like to share with you all at this point is that she knows all the "bad" stuff, but she is choosing to be positive and optimistic. She's keeping her positive attitude and asks for others to have the same for her.  She plans on staying in there to fight and will need your thoughts, prayers and support to help her through.  She's got a strong faith and asks for others to keep the faith and love strong for her...and she thanks you ahead of time for all of it.