Aunt JoAnn is recovering

JoAnn and John Emmett in healthier days

An update from Patricia Benn

Good news! We just finished meeting with the surgeon who called her surgery "heroic". The surgery lasted about 4 hours and was very intensive but he was able to remove all the cancer! There were tumors on the surface of the colon and he removed about a foot of it. There were also tumors on her diaphragm and he removed a section of that along with the ovaries (of course). He also removed the omentum (that is the fatty lining which covers the abdominal cavity) and said there were no tumors on the liver or the lungs and that all lymph nodes were clear. The suspicious spot they thought was on the liver was actually on the omentum so that is good news. He said the fluid on the lung was normal because of the involvement of the diaphragm.

She will be going to intensive care for the next two days and will spend at least 7 days in the hospital. They will watch her very closely due to the length and extent of the surgery. The cancer is stage 3 and she will undergo 5-6 months of chemotherapy (once a month).

We will let you know how things go in the next few days. Thank you all for you love and support. Our family is truly blessed is have all of you in our lives.

The Hickmans