The Big C... A Journey Through Stomach Cancer

The Surgery: October 04, 2017

The day Papa had his Gastrectomy. I haven't mentioned it to anybody at that time but Papa has stomach cancer. I couldn't accept the fact, that with all the people in this world... Papa is now one of the many who has acquired the big C. He has been healthy all throughout his age, now that he is 72, that's when he gets cancer. Sometimes it wants me to blame God for him allowing this to happen. Not being religious or anything or trying to find someone to blame but when you think of it... Why Papa? People will say, " There's a reason for everything." But at this moment I don't see any reason for this to happen. Papa, is my rock and pillar of strength. That being said, he is an awesome person, not only to me but also to many people.

My family and I were all there for Papa waiting in the family lounge of the Veteran's Affairs Medical Hospital in Palo Alto except of course the absence of my two other sisters, Ate G and Ate Marie. They were out of state at that moment and as usual missing in action in regards to family affairs, somewhat indifferent when it comes to family values.

The operation was going well until the surgeon, had to perform a total gastrectomy, which means they are removing his entire stomach. Initially, they were just going to do a partial gastrectomy, taking out the area where they found the cancer cells however during the operation the pathologist has found that the cancer cells were deeper than expected. With no stomach, which is responsible for our body's digestive and storage area, this will be a life changing event for Papa. His diet will change permanently together with his lifestyle overall, I cant even imagine the spectrum of change this will be for him and also for us. The surgery started at 8 o' clock in the morning. We waited the whole day until the night fell. Papa was finally out the operating room and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit.