Tuesday - On Tumors and Tigers

Today over my morning coffee, I was thinking about my stepsister's son, Reese, who is having surgery today to remove his right kidney. Late last week his doctor discovered a tumor on this kidney the size of a tennis ball. Once removed, the tumor and the will be biopsied. It is fully expected that he has cancer. I will call my father this evening to see how everything went, and meanwhile will pray for the best.

Reese turned two in January, which makes him three months younger than my own son. A tumor that size on a child that small makes it as big as, or bigger than, the kidney it took over. They believe he has something called Wilms' Tumor, a form of kidney cancer that usually affects children under the age of 6. The doctors say they are lucky it was caught this early. Usually, these fast-growing tumors are the size of a softball by the time anyone discovers them.

( Oh, for a Saber-Toothed Tiger to Fight )