On Dec 9th my dad checked into the hospital with tremendous pain. He had been in and out a few times over the previous several months, mostly short stays. Nothing however prepared us for what was in store next. While in the hospital, on Dec 18th dad underwent a biopsy for a previously identified lump. The Dr. phoned me to let me know it was something he had never seen in his 20 plus years. On Dec 24th, Christmas Eve I got the call from the Dr. The preliminary results came back and it confirmed that what we were dealing with was a Stage 3/4 locally advanced tumor roughly the size of a softball, about 10cm. I called my dad as I wanted to be the one to tell him of his situation. We decided to not tell anybody one else until after the holiday.
