SURGERY DEFINITELY NEEDED, BIOPSY WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH
Today I met with the surgeon. Wonderful man, great doctor. He said the the tumor at the tail of my pancreas must be removed because it is blocking the duct and it is growing. If the "mass" or tumor at the head of the pancreas is cancerous, then the whole pancreas will need to be removed. This surgery would take about 6 hours. If that happens I will instantly become what is called a brittle diabetic, meaning I will have to self-regulate insulin injections regularly, plus I will have to rely on digestive enzymes to digest my food. It will be a hard life, but at least I'll get to see my kids grow up.
However, I'm praying that mass at the head of my pancreas will not be cancerous and that only the tail will need to be removed. That would leave enough of my pancreas to hopefully function well enough to live a fairly normal life.
Prayer focus items:
1. I will get the biopsy results on Tuesday. Please pray the mass at the head of my pancreas in not cancerous.
2. Pray for my preparation for surgery which should take place sometime within the next week (depending on the biopsy test results).
3. Pray for Jan, Erika and Branson who will be traveling down to Singapore for the surgery.
Thank you for continuing to pray for me. - Robert
P.S. The next update will be on Sunday evening.