Just got off the phone with my dad.

They found a "tiny" (<6 mm he says) spot, but there's one on his liver AND one on one kidney.

Standard comment: I am trying really hard not to freak out about this.

I know about chemotherapy pumps (my aunt had one with her colon cancer and did really well). I know that many cancers progress slowly. I know that you can live with one kidney removed, and I think you can live with part of a liver removed.

I also know that I don't know for sure that it's the Big-C. It might be something else. He goes to see YET ANOTHER doctor next week.

Thank God it's not pancreatic cancer. I know too many people who died of that.

He's really not very concerned about it, it was sort of a casual comment in the middle of our regular weekly phone conversation (and my mom had to prompt him to tell me - she said "tell her about your test" and he said "Oh, I already told her about all the students who failed the hourly exam" and she had to say "No, the test with your doctor". So either he's really not worried about it, or he's burying it so deeply he's not thinking about it. Knowing my dad, I think it's the first. I tend to be the "designated worrier" in the family).

So, now it's time to figure out something for dinner, then prep the next week's GIS class stuff, and then, I think, work on the prayer shawl/afghan/thing for my dad. Frankly, it's more for ME at this point, working on it and focusing on it and praying and getting my worries out BEFORE I get into bed means I sleep better.