Latest Update

On Tuesday, Linda had her final appointment with her nasal surgeon, Dr. Chung, before surgery. For the most part, it was a recap of previous material covered.

Dr. Chung told Linda to expect to completely lose her sense of smell and for her sense of taste to dramatically diminish. Once again this is the one portion of this ordeal that continues to upset Linda. So much of her life is about smell. She went out of her way to only plant fragrant rose bushes and so many memories are tied to smells. What I know is that my Jesus is BIGGER than ANYTHING the doctors tell us and we BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!

There were a few things that were a bit different. Dr. Chung explained that Linda does have a greater chance of losing her physical eye than previously anticipated. One of the reasons is that they are going to remove the bone between the eye and the nasal cavity to get the margins. The margin is the area of healthy cells surrounding the cancer cells that are removed. At this point it does not look like the cancer has spread. Although Dr. Chung wanted to be very clear that if the cancer has spread to the bone, then Linda’s physical eye may have to be removed as the margin.

Another reason that they may have to remove her physical eye is that the cancer goes back rather deep towards the cone portion of her eye socket. Even if the tumor has not attacked itself to the optic nerve, Dr. Chung explained the further back that you go the smaller the space becomes and that he may have no other option then to take the physical eye as the margin. According to Dr. Chung the percentage has jumped from a less than 5% chance of losing the physical eye to 15%-20% chance. Once again Linda responded like a trooper and said, “Well wouldn’t that make me the coolest Grandmother on the block!? I’ll be able to pop my glass eye out like a pirate…my grandchildren would sure love that!” Not that she has any biological grandchildren yet, but she is “Grandma Linda” to Becky’s 5 year old triplet boys – Orion, Hunter and Archer. I bet that the Otero triplets will LOVE her “eyeball trick”.

Also, Dr. Chung told us to expect Linda to have some spinal fluid leakage and as a result to expect her to come out of surgery with a drain in her back. The drain will help to keep the brain from swelling and also let the doctors know if the repairs to seal the spinal fluid are not working. If this is the case, then Linda will need to have emergency surgery to repair the leakage. Linda can count on the drain being capped off and removed before we take her home.

We were told to be prepared for Linda to be in ICU for 2-3 days and in the hospital for a week if everything goes as planned and there are no complications. We were also told to expect that Linda may be a bit “goofy” after the surgery. This will be due to any brain swelling or trauma the brain may have experienced throughout the surgery. However, most if not all of these nuances are expected to be temporary, with less than a 5% chance of being permanent.

Linda is also concerned about pain. Just before her last surgery, the anesthesiologist asked her “On a scale of one to ten, what is your pain tolerance?” Linda answered, “Zero”. When Linda asked Dr. Chung to give her as much drugs as needed to compensate for the pain, she was not given the answer she wanted to hear. Dr. Chung indicated that she will receive pain medication; however, since they will be running neurological tests on her after surgery, she will not be able to be “knocked out”. Please pray for minimum pain for Linda after surgery and during recuperation.

Prayer Warriors: please continue to pray for the surgeons, for a surgery with NO COMPLICATIONS, and for a rapid healing!

Thank you for your continued prayers!!

Letter from Katrina

Greetings Beloveds!!

I wanted to take a moment and apologize for not be so good at returning phone calls or emails right now. There has been such an amazing out pouring of love that it has become impossible to keep up. Especially, since we are in the midst of preparing for the surgery and getting all of Linda’s affairs in order. We hope to have everything in order by the end of this week, so that we can play the week before the surgery.

Love to you all!! Thank you for your love and understanding!!

Deepest Heartfelt Appreciation,

Katrina

Update from Linda

Dear Friends and Family,

Okay, we have a date! Friday, April 3, I am to check in the hospital, Good Samaritan in Lafayette, Colorado, at 6 AM. :o( (What happened to the idea of beauty sleep?) Surgery is scheduled for 7:30 AM MST. The surgery will last anywhere from 6 - 10 hours. Remember, Prayer Warriors, we are praying for routine surgery with no complications, followed by a full and speedy recovery! :o) Even with no complications, I am expecting to stay in the hospital for one week.

Once surgery is complete, please check the blog for updates. My daughter, Katrina, will have her computer at the hospital, and will give updates as we have them. I will not be receiving phone calls or visitors while I am in the hospital. This will probably continue for at least one month after surgery, as I gain strength and focus on my healing. Please continue praying for a complete rapid healing, even when you don’t hear directly from me. I am so grateful for all of the prayers, as I am convinced that your prayers and the Love of Jesus Christ have filled me with PEACE as I enter this battle.

4-8 weeks after surgery I will begin 6 weeks of radiation (and perhaps chemo), 5 days a week for a total of 30 treatments. Chemo will be determined after surgery is over and all tests are finished. The really cool thing is that St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown Denver has complimentary VALET PARKING for radiation/chemo patients. Pretty Sweet!

Update on my cystic mass on my ovaries. As you know the CA125 blood test was negative. :o) There was talk of having an ultrasound, however, due to my age (57 years old on May 1!), the doctors have decided to remove my ovaries with another operation, 3-6 months after the April 3 sinus cancer surgery. I have hit the Surgery Trifecta of 2009! Okay, here is a blessing: all of the surgeries will have taken place in the same year, so we only have to deal with one year of deductable health insurance (which we already hit on the first surgery!) Thank-you, Jesus!

The Sisters in Christ at my church – Holy Spirit Church (Anglican) in Broomfield made me a lovely prayer shawl, which was prayed over by Father Chuck and the Sisters in Christ before being given to me. When I put it on my shoulders, I can feel their love and the touch of their healing hands. It brings me great comfort.

Okay, so one more story for the road… When my sister, Annie, was here, we were talking about my potential hair loss. Annie mentioned a story on solidarity to me and Katrina; that all friends of the cancer survivor shaved their heads in support! Katrina looked at me, and I looked at her. Katrina spoke up, first and said, “Annie there is no way I am shaving my head in support of mom.” Next I said, “Annie, I would not shave my head for you if you had cancer.” So, we all decided that 2009 would be the “Year of Hats”, so we went out and each bought the same hat. :o) If you want to display solidarity with me, just go out and buy a hat, or wear a hat that you love, and think of me. Remember 2009 is the Year of Hats!

Since all of your prayers have given me peace, I would like to say, “Peace Be with YOU!”

Much love and appreciation,

Linda H. Wogan

Update on Latest Appointment & Blood Work

Yesterday, Linda had her pre-op appointment with the Neurosurgeon. There is nothing new to report other than the signing of papers and revisiting all the potential risks that have already been shared.

Linda also received a phone call from her main surgeons nurse letting us know the results of her blood work. The results of the CA125 came back negative. The CA125 test is a blood test that screens for ovarian cancer, thus giving us great hope that once Linda has the ultrasound on her ovary that the cyst will come back benign. So keep the prayers coming…THEY ARE WORKING!!

A Letter from Linda

Dear Friends and Family,

OVERWHELMED!! It is how I am feeling at the response of all of the comments on the blogs, emails, cards and love sent my way. I feel empowered with the prayers, jokes, and loving comments by all of you!

I feel in awe that I have people that I have never met, praying for me, sending me emails and cards! It is such a humbling and comforting feeling.

The BEST THING ABOUT HAVING CANCER is having family, friends and old friends contacting me and letting me know that I am in their thoughts and prayers. However, I am still planning on being CANCER-FREE after the surgery. :o)

As you can tell with the updates, this upcoming surgery is pretty darned serious! Even when I have found out what outcomes are possible, I am surprised by my inner calmness. I attribute this to the prayers that are being said for me, and the LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST.

Thank-you for forwarding my information to all of your Prayer Warriors! I literally have people praying for me from the Ukraine to Nicaragua, and Mexico to Australia. What an amazing tool the internet has become!

Since I have requested jokes and laughter to help in my recovery, you all have been wonderful in bringing a smile to my face, and joy in my heart.

For instance, my sister, Annie, has a WONDERFUL mother-in-law – Joan Tucker, who has been sending me a joke each day. I am touched by her thoughtfulness and resourcefulness to send me a smile each day!

I am reading each email, card and comment, and listening to each phone message, but I apologize that I do not have the energy to respond to all of the correspondence and phone calls. I probably won’t be writing a letter for at least one month after the surgery, although I will have Katrina give regular updates on my SUCCESSFUL SURGERY AND RAPID PROGRESS.

With a grateful heart I want to thank-you all, again for your thoughts, prayers, jokes and laughter. I am confident that you all are making a difference in my healing journey.

Much love to you all,

Linda

PET Scan & Eye Surgeon Update

Last night when we were at dinner one of Linda’s Nasal Surgeons left a message. Dr. Andrews said that everything looked good from a spread stand point and that the cancer had NOT spread to the lymph nodes. However that he did need to speak with her, but that it was not urgent. You can only imagine all the reasons that Momma & I came up with that Dr. Andrews needed to speak with her.

Well this morning Dr. Andrews confirmed that everything looked great, although Linda has a cyst on one of her ovaries. Once again the likelihood of it being cancer is very slim, especially since according to the PET Scan the cancer is localized and has not spread AT ALL. Linda had to have some blood work drawn today. We are now in the process of making an ultra sound appointment to have a better look at the ovary.

This afternoon we met with Linda’s Eye Surgeon for her pre-op consult. Basically everyone up to this point has been rather certain that she would be able to maintain her sight. Although today we learned that there is a rather strong chance that she might lose her eye sight in her right eye (the side that tumor is on). Dr. Dragon explained that the tumor is very vascular and that there is a strong chance that it may have attached itself or wrapped itself around the optic nerve. If this is the case Linda will lose her sight in her right eye. Dr. Dragon explained that the percentage of Linda losing her sight is either 0% or 100%...that there is no way to know until she is in there if the optical nerve has been jeopardized. Thus it will either happen or it won’t. We as a family see it as a 50%--50% and are BELIEVING that God can do anything!

Praise Report: Linda had asked for a referral for a plastic surgeon, to make sure that any scarring or disfigurement would be kept to minimum. They said that they would be happy to oblige, but wanted to make sure that Linda was aware that her main Nasal Surgeon was a specialist in reconstruction. So much so, that he most likely has more experience on reconstructing that part of the face then most plastic surgeons. In addition to that, it turns out that her eye surgeon is the reconstructive eye specialist for Denver. God is AMAZING the way that He is bring this team of surgeons together to heal my mother, to make her whole and fully restore her to the way God created her! We are all very THANKFUL for God’s faithfulness!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!

Prayer Request: That God would continue to give our family the stamina to walk through this challenge! That this latest potential bump would come back benign…NOT CANCER! That God would miraculously keep the blood supply to the tumor from attaching or approaching on the optical nerve and that God would help Linda maintain her eye sight in BOTH eyes! That God would continue to turn this situation for His Glory & that we would be continuously walking in His peace!! While of course continuing to pray for a SUCCESSFUL SURGERY with NO COMPLICATIONS, that Linda would maintain her sense of SMELL & TASTE and for Linda to be HEALED and FULLLY RESTORED to EXCELLENT HEALTH!

Tomorrow brings a pre-op appointment with the Neurosurgeon.

Thank you again for your well wishes and prayers!

XOXO’s to all,

The Wogan’s

Latest Update

First and foremost thank you all for your wonderful emails, phone calls & messages of encouragement, love, well wishes, jokes & prayers!!! Linda as heard EVERY phone message, read EVERY email & post. They ALL have aided in keeping her spirits high & her mind focused on life!

On Thursday the 5th Linda had her consultation with the Neurosurgeon. To date this was the hardest appointment. We found out that Linda has a 90% chance that she will lose her sense of smell and taste. It is amazing with all the information that we have learned, that this is the one aspect that has made her mad. And boy is she angry at the thought of losing her sense of taste and smell! So much so that she is in the midst of making a list of all the things that we need to go smell and taste before her surgery.

According to the Neurosurgeon other risks of the surgery are follows. Linda has a 30% chance of a spinal fluid leak. If this occurs they will need to fix it immediately, so that she doesn’t develop Meningitis. There is a less than 5% chance that she will become goofy, lose memories, have her personality altered, etc. And with most surgeries there is 2-3% chance of mortality.

As for the Neurosurgeons part in the surgery…First he will be making an incision on the top of the scalp from ear to ear. Then he will be pulling down the scalp towards her forehead. Next he will be drilling three holes, one on either side of her temples and on the top center of her head. After that he will remove that portion of the top of the skull and gently lift up and pull back her frontal lobe. He says that his portion of the surgery is the “easiest.” After all once he has done that, his job is to make sure that no spinal fluid begins to leak and to make sure that what the other doctors are doing doesn’t affect Linda’s brain. Although, I am not quite sure it’s the easiest! Once they are done he will graph any areas that need to be replaced and then Linda will actually get a face lift. My mother whom I never thought would have plastic surgery is going to get a face lift and not even have to pay for it. Who would have ever thought? Also, the nerves in her forehead are going to be damaged as well…so it will be like she has permanent Botox in her forehead. Too wild!!

As for the surgery will still do not have a date. We are still in the process of making all the consultation appointments that are required for the surgery.

On Friday the 6th Linda had another appointment to have a PET Scan. The PET Scan is going to verify that the cancer has not spread to any other part of her body. We should have the result this next week. The PET Scan is similar to a CAT Scan. The first hour they give her a radioactive sugar injection, followed with a half hour of laying absolutely still in the machine. It wasn’t painful and there weren’t any adverse affects other than the fact that she couldn’t eat before her 11am appointment. Linda was definitely suffering from a case of low blood sugar…but was back to her sweet self once we took her to lunch!

Prayer Request: That Linda is in the 10% that is able to maintain her sense of smell & taste! That God will guide the surgeons’ hands and that there will be no complications! That they will EASILY be able to remove ALL the cancer and that Linda will be cancer free once we are through the surgery! That Linda will have a quick and effortless recovery!

Thank you all again for your love, support, thoughts and prayers!!

Latest Update

It’s official Linda has SNUC, otherwise known as Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma. She has been diagnosed with stage 2 sinus cancer. The tumor is approximately between 2-3cm. in size.

SNUC is a rather rare form of cancer, primarily affecting men in South Africa or Asia. Linda can literally only partially claim ONE of the known causes, the first 18yrs of her life she lived with a chain smoker. However they don’t list second hand smoke as a cause, but rather the ACT of being a smoker. It is not caused by an inherited faulty gene, so other members of the family are NOT likely to develop it.

At this point they are in the process of assembling a team of surgeons made up of a Neurosurgeon (brain doctor), Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) & of course a sinus specialist. We have to have a consultation with each specialist before the surgery. Because of that and due to the fact that they all have to coordinate their schedules, most likely the surgery will not be until the last week of March or the first two weeks in April.

The surgery is going to consist of a combined approach. They are going to approach both from the outside as well as the inside of the nose, as well as through the brain. The approach through the brain will consist of the partial removal of Linda’s skull, the pulling back of the front portion of her brain so that they may get to the tumor. The doctors have explained that this is not “brain surgery.” Since they are not actually working on the brain and that serious risks are limited. The doctors also have been assuring us that the brain is much more pliable and resilient then one may think.

WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER and thank you for continuing to pray!!! Obviously the surgery is going to be very tricky, complicated and delicate. We are asking everyone to be praying for a routine surgery, with no complications, and praying for a TOTAL, RAPID RECOVERY. If you are a member of a prayer chain, or you know of one, please put Linda on it. This surgery is pretty darn serious, and we are going to need ALL the prayers we can get!!

In the midst of all of this WE PRAISE GOD! Especially because once we are through the surgery the long term prognosis is GREAT! Linda may have to follow-up the surgery with radiation and/or chemo treatment, as well as a possible reconstructive surgery. The doctors and WE ALL BELIEVE that Linda will be with us until she is a little old lady!

Letter from Linda

Dear Friends and Family,

Linda Wogan has sinus cancer! What????

So have any of you ever heard of sinus cancer? I have not, but I have a feeling that I will soon become an expert!

I started having nose bleeds and a blockage in my right nostril around the 1st of the year. Thought it was a polyp. I was not worried about cancer, since only 5% of the cases are cancer…Low and behold, I should have bought a lottery ticket!! What are the odds??

The Ear, Nose, Throat Specialist also found a nodule on my thyroid – Fr. Chuck prayed for me over the phone – after hanging-up…the phone rang – it was Kaiser with the joyous news that my thyroid biopsy was benign – yea, no cancer! Thank-you, Jesus!

I had surgery on Wednesday, February 25. The biopsy of the nasal polyp came back CANCER! The surgeon stopped the surgery. He felt that since the growth was so close to my brain & eye that he needed more information before proceeding. I have had two MRI’s and we are currently waiting for the detailed biopsy results.

Here is another Blessing: the 1st MRI shows that the cancer has not spread to the brain and eyes!

We should know the specific type of cancer and treatment they are recommending sometime this week. My next surgery could happen as soon as this week or as late as the end of the month….

Nasal/Sinus surgery can be very complicated…especially when they go through both the top of the head, as well as up through the nose. If this is the type of surgery they choose, Kaiser will probably outsource me to Colorado University Hospital. I will have a team of surgeons made up of a brain specialist, and an eye specialist, as well as a sinus specialist. I am so fortunate to have good insurance – we can all thank Michael Wogan and Nordstrom for that!

Our daughter, Katrina is here, as well as my sister Annie, from Iowa. Katrina is back home temporarily, for at least a few months helping run the house, taking care of me, and getting certified so that we can keep Shari.

Who is Shari? I am a Host Home Provider for a wonderful 38 year old developmentally delayed woman. It is similar to being a foster parent. Shari has lived with us since November 1, 2007. She is a wonderful, loving and a delightful family member. Her mother is gracious enough to let Shari continue to live with us, despite our unexpected journey. Katrina is on the fast track to become certified as a Host Home Provider.

I am used to being the nurturer and caretaker. Being on the receiving end is new for me. But, as my nephew, Ben Tucker has said, “There is a time to give, and a time to receive.” Please pray for me to make the adjustment to receive the care and love during this difficult journey.

Michael, Katrina, Annie and I are all walking around, pretty much in shock. If you call, please give us some grace. We are all taking turns responding to phone calls. We are in uncharted territory here. We all feel like we are getting ready to run a relay-marathon race. Michael, Annie Katrina and I are getting our rest, and trying to get ready for the BIG DAY!

Michael, Annie, Katrina and I are working through this with THE LORD’S help. Please pray for comfort, strength, guidance and protection for us.

What I am asking of friends and family is to pray for me, as well as the family. If there is a prayer chain that you know of, please put me on it! This is pretty darn serious and I need all of the prayers that I can get!

I also need to LAUGH, so if you know of an article, a joke, a book or DVD that makes you laugh please let me know about it. However, once I have surgery I probably won’t be checking my email for at least one month. (I told you this was serious!)

Thank-you for all your love and prayers. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested. We will not be keeping any secrets – we are going to be forthright with the diagnosis so that we can have specific prayers for healing.

Right now we want prayers that once they open me up, they can’t find any cancer. (Sung to the tune of “I Believe in Miracles”…) However, if the cancer is still there, we want it to be localized and contained and stage 1. We want the surgery to be routine as possible, with no complications and that I am fully restored and completely healed.

Thank-you all for your POSITIVE ENERGY, LOVE AND PRAYERS.

Much Love,

Linda

Linda Wogan email address:LindaWogan@aol.com
Michael Wogan email address: MandLWogan@aol.com
Katrina Wogan email address: KatWogan@aol.com
Annie Tucker email address: atucker7@juno.com

“I cry out to the Lord He heals me.” --Psalm 30:2

“The Lord has declared that HE will restore me to health and heal my wounds.”

--Jeremiah 30:17

“The Lord forgives all my sins and Heals All My Diseases.” --Psalm 103:3