And, the verdict is out!

Today I woke up early in the morning since Mom returned from the hospital to wish me for my Birthday. We got ready and went to the Murugan Temple before going to the hospital. The day started out nice and warm, receiving phone calls from close relatives and friends sending their wishes. Dad blessed me as usual and I was really happy to see the gifts sent by my dear hubby for both dad and myself. That was a pleasant surprise for me and dad was extremely happy about it, although he is still not permitted to eat any of the sweets or fruits. He could still smell the flowers and admire the beauty! Lately he has been appreciating all the friendly calls made to inquire about his health and he smiles upon hearing about them. The Nurses had removed the tubes coming out of his nose, to collect the gastric juices, and that made him look a lot brighter and more cheerful today.

We were waiting for the doctors to come by and tell us about the histology reports that we had been waiting for to tell us if the surgery was successful. Dr K.C. Tan and his team visited dad and said that an Oncologist would come and speak to us. Suddenly the day seemed very dull with the sky threatening to pour at any moment. We entered the Perumal Temple and it rained like never before. I was not sure if it was a normal thing or if it was because of the lunar eclipse that was to happen later in the day. We stayed there until it reduced and caught a cab back to the hospital.

At around 4 pm, the Oncologist Dr. Peter Ang walked in to our room and asked dad about his chemotherapy regimen so far. I was silently hoping and praying that he would say that dad would not require any more chemotherapy and that he was completely cured with the surgery. But as they say, if all prayers came true then there is no God. He explained to us that since dad had undergone Radio Frequency Ablation for one of his Liver Tumors, there was a "high risk" of recurrence. This meant that he would have to complete his existing cycle of chemotherapy (2 more rounds) and then would have to be assessed to find if he would require more chemos. That was not exactly the type of news I was hoping to hear on my birthday. But, looking at it on the brighter side, atleast dad is clear for now, since he also mentioned that the surgeons had removed all the cancer cells they could see and even some of the microscopic cells which could not be picked on any of the scans.

Dad will have to do followups every 2-3 months to make sure that the ugly thing did not show up its face once again in dad's system. Which is very normal for any type of cancer. Some doctors even advise preventive chemotherapy in the form of injections in out-patient wards to keep the cancer under control. I just hope that this way we can fight the battle against the monster and show him Who's his Daddy! Poor dad has been slightly depressed hearing that he would have to endure the treatment a little while longer just when he thought that all the hardship was over. We tried cheering him up saying that this was very normal and that he was perfectly alright, but he did not seem to hear any of it.

What I do not understand is that, according to statistics, Radio Frequency Ablation is successful in killing the tumors in 88% of the cases and yet the doctors feel that it is a high risk procedure. In that case, what really is the best procedure to make sure that the cancer never comes back?