Sandy Beardsley
Living with a Brain Tumor
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10/21/05
Day Two
Filed under: General
Posted by: Dan @ 10:19 pm

Another good day that reinforces our sense of the healing energy of this place…
Walking into the Stanford Cancer Center itself was a wonderful experience… an amazingly peaceful, healing place… a new, beautifully designed building full of natural light, warm colors and wood, and artwork everywhere. It looks more like an art gallery than a typical hospital… very calming. But of course the doctors rooms look like doctors rooms everywhere. But the impression of the entrance area lasted a long time.
We met with the lead doctor of oncology today to learn about chemotherapy treatments post-surgery and were very encouraged by his attitude and what he said. Things like… "We’re optimists around here…" and "I don’t want to go out on a limb here before surgery and the pathology exam, but judging from the MRI scans I’m going to be bullish on this one… I believe we can control this…"  Of course, great words to hear even knowing that he can’t say anything for sure until meeting with us on November 4th. And even then, no guarantees about how Sandy’s cancer will respond to chemo treatments. But highly encouraging — we’ll take it at this point. It looks like initially at least, for the first round, she will just take a pill (a chemo drug called temodar) for a week out of every month for a year or so, depending on MRI results down the road. We walked out into the warm (perfect 70’s) blue sky day of Palo Alto, strolling past ponderosa pines and palm trees, smiling more than we have in a long time. We walked to an open-air shopping area near the campus and Sandy found a salon to get her hair cut and styled — she has to look good for that surgeon you know. Oh, that was good news for her yesterday too (not that she cares that much) but her surgeon says he will only have to shave a relatively small area of her head to access where the surgery will be, and her longer hair should hide it. She was all ready just to go get her head shaved ahead of time and be in control of her hair destiny, but at least she got a nice style out of the deal anyway. It looks great. Later we went to a Stanford Shop and bought Stanford t-shirts and caps, since Sandy will soon be an honorary alumni.
I forgot to mention yesterday the one thing that helped Sandy survive the flight down here — she had Lance Armstrong’s first book in her lap - It’s Not About the Bike, open to the page with the great photo of him taken during his chemo days - looking straight into the camera, "bald, scarred and brooding" but also determination in his eyes. Sandy looked into those eyes (and mine occassionally of course) and gathered strength…. as we rocketed toward this place of healing… Oh and another good sign after the plane (an MD80, Pat) landed in San Jose - we exited the plane not through the usual tunnel labyrinth attached to the door and into the terminal (it’s a small airport), but through the drop-down hatch at the rear of the jet - down the half-dozen steps and onto the runway into the warm California sunshine…
Sandy and I want to thank everyone for all the great comments and emails — they’re really helping us through this.
Good night,
Dan

3 Responses to “Day Two”

  1. Caryn O'Connor and mom Says:
    October 22nd, 2005 at 5:07 pm Dan and Sandy: We are thinking about you guys constantly, appreciate your updates. We know all will go splendidly and you’ll be back in your normal routine soon. Lots of prayers coming from Oregon. Love you both!! Caryn, Jim and Carolyn in Waldport.
  2. Mary Lowe Says:
    October 22nd, 2005 at 9:09 pm But sandy “Louise” dear I already got my head shaved…gee now what am I going to tell all these people when you arrive home looking great, and I will be bald.. Love Mary (Thelma) .not really I am going to get mine colored and cut though now that I know that I am not going to have mine shaved. Love u much hon…
  3. Millie Watkins Says:
    October 22nd, 2005 at 9:19 pm Hi Dan. Thanks so much for calling today. We were sure you were out there somewhere communicating. I think you must be right that the filtering system messed up somewhere. Any way it was good to hear from you. Also, what a good writer you are! Your descriptions are great. It really helps to feel like we know a bit about your experiences. Sandy, it is so good to hear you are in capable hands. Your medical team sounds like all stars. We are feeling so much better to know that you are there. We had a staff inservice afternoon yesterday. Now, first I want to tell you that when I said you could skip some of those, I didn’t have this in mind. Anyway, everyone was asking about you. We started the inservice with a PE activity. Lance had the group move from one end of the gym to the other stepping on only the mats. Josh decided the best way to move the mats forward was to roll one up in a ball and use it like a squirrel cage. Then he crawled forward inside the roll. Very funny. After the mats on the gym floor thing, we went to the library and wrote you notes. They are in the mail and will probably get to your hotel a day or two after surgery. We are thinking of you. It is helpful to know you are in the hands of doctors and nurses that are part of the "angel team" watching over you. But still, we miss you and want you to hurry home to us as well. Meanwhile, our thoughts are with you. We are keeping you in our prayers. Millie

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