Like Daughter - 55

I thought I'd never have to come back here.

It's been over 10 years since I wrote on this blog, and I had honestly forgotten about it. My mother, Adelina, told me I should resurrect it, since there is now something else to talk about.

First, some background.

I don't think I mentioned my husband before, or if I did, I didn't say much. 

I met Jason at the OMG! Cancer Summit (now called CancerCon) through the organization Stupid Cancer in April of 2011. He was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at 6 years old in 1995 as a result of water contamination in New Jersey. He had suffered a stroke, which led doctors to finding the tumor. After an excruciating and long treatment of radiation and chemo, he went into remission. It was not without its problems, though. Jason had to have a spinal fusion in his teen years, and has been hard of hearing since treatment. Otherwise, he is an extraordinary person. He is bright, funny, and my perfect type of nerd. 

I was not interested in being with another survivor. Nope. Too much baggage and drama. Once we met, though, I forgot this and hoped he was interested. After three weeks of meeting up and spending time together, we became official on April 30, 2011. Jason moved to Maryland for work and to be with me, and after living together for a time, we got married on April 12, 2014. Albeit bumpy at times, our marriage has been quite strong and we have worked very hard to get to where we have gotten to. We are very happy.

Which brings me to now.

On Thursday, July 16, 2026, Jason suffered a stroke due to a brain bleed. At the time, we had no idea why this happened or what caused it. His speech was completely garbled and made no sense. After being rushed to the hospital and receiving an MRI, the doctors concluded that there was an unknown mass in his brain. It, of course, needed to be removed. The doctor was comfortable waiting until the following Monday, since the bleed had stopped and Jason was improving hour by hour in regards to his speech and memory.

On Monday, July 20, 2026, Jason had a major resection surgery to remove the mass. The surgeon, who had such blessed hands, removed a majority of the mass, saying it was mostly encapsulated, but there were some parts that he could not remove without risking permanently affecting Jason's memory and speech. Ultimately, the surgeon was satisfied with the amount he removed and how the surgery went, but he could not identify what the mass was. It didn't look like anything he was familiar with. So, off to pathology the mass went.

A week later, Jason was officially diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Doctors suspect that this was caused by the radiation Jason received as a child. It fits the timeline of the possibility of a secondary cancer developing down the line, so it isn't necessarily a surprise to the doctors, but at the same time, Jason is not a typical glioma patient. He is 38 years old and very healthy, which are two key things going for him when it comes to getting through treatment and overall survival.

After three weeks of doctors visits, more tests, and emotional conversations, things are beginning to fall into place. Jason will spend most of the day tomorrow getting more MRIs and brain mapping completed for his proton radiation therapy, which Jason ultimately decided to continue with for treatment. Once the radiation plan is in place, treatment will begin hopefully before the end of August. Scheduling his daily treatments will happen tomorrow as well, which will then dictate my work schedule along with his.

Jason is my priority right now. I need to ensure everything is running as smoothly as possible for him, which is making me a little bit neurotic about the details and lining up the ducks, so to speak. I guess this is where it helps that I also went through cancer -- I'm more equipped with what to say, ask, do. I know what Jason must be thinking, and how he is feeling. I would be feeling the same things if I was told I had cancer again.

This is much different than when my mom, sister, cousin, aunts, and uncles were going through cancer. Not only am I the caregiver...I'm the partner. I never even thought for a moment that this was possible for us to go through. This was not on my blasted Bingo card.

To be honest, there's so much in my head right now that I'm struggling to form the words and type them here. If you know me, this isn't a regular occurrence. 

I will update as things progress. I'm unsure how often, but for now, this is where we are.

Keep Jason in your prayers and/or thoughts, and send any good vibes you've got our way, if you have some to spare. We could use it.

Until next time, friends, I wish you love, happiness and -- most importantly -- good health.
Dori