Dear Ellen,
We found out that my husband had cancer because of severe anemia...turned out that the tumor was bleeding. Other than that, he really didn't have other symptoms. Most people have told us that they only had heartburn leading up to their diagnosis.
Those first few weeks after he was diagnosed were the hardest for us. The whirlwind of scans...CT scans, Ultrasounds, meeting doctors and being scared of the unknown was so hard. Once he had the surgery and started treatment we finally felt that we were actually doing something to beat the cancer away. Hans was stage III with significant lymph node involvement.
In a few weeks we will go for Hans' PET/CT scan for his three year checkup. He is super busy now working full time shooting a cooking show for Georgia Public Television that will air this winter. We've always joked that the irony of a Chef with stomach cancer wasn't lost on us...we have a pretty goofy sense of humor in this house. He is back to all of his hobbies now as well as real work. He doesn't always feel good and he has a hard time eating, but life is still sweet because he is here with us beating all of those statistics!
My thoughts are with you and your mom, please continue to update us here!
Amy