About Wayne (my Dad)
If you’ve been around tournament skiing for any length of time, the odds are you’ve been pulled by Wayne Canfield, or scored by his wife Barbara. Wayne is one of the most respected boat drivers in the world and an exceptional skier as well. Active in organized skiing for over 40 years, Wayne and Barbara are fixtures at local, national, and world events.
Earlier this year, Dad began to have problems with headaches over his left eye and the left side of his head, along with chest pains and neck and back problems. Perhaps more telling was a problem remembering things and using the wrong words at times. Because of the chest pains, a cardiologist was the first to examine Dad, and after some extensive tests he was cleared with no heart problems.
The next doctor was a neurologist who ordered an MRI for Dad. In the meantime, Dad continued normal activities including regular visits to the gym and taking part in his square dancing group, the pain consistently coming back.
The MRI was done on March 12. The following day, Dad and Mom received the bad news that there was a tumor on his brain and they needed to go immediately to the hospital. Dad was admitted on Friday the 13th, and surgery was scheduled for the 15th.
They were able to remove a portion of the tumor in surgery, but due to the way it had grown and intertwined with blood vessels and the brain, doctors could not remove all of the abnormal area. Dad’s recovery from surgery was amazing. Sitting up and talking with the many friends that came to visit.
The pathology report that came back two days later confirmed the family’s worst fear – stage four glioblastoma multiforme, an incurable and very aggressive form of cancer. Dad took the news in his usual calm style, and the first thing he said to Mom was “we have some work to do”, obviously ready to give it a fight and not feel sorry for himself.
Dad was able to go home less than four days after the surgery and continue his recovery at their home in Canyon Lake surrounded by friends. His memory is fine, and there are no problems with speech, something the doctors were concerned with due to the location of the tumor. The follow-up CT Scan to prepare for Cyberknife radiation showed that the tumor was very agressive and hadn't been slowed down by the surgery, so radiation was moved up to treat the tumor more agressively. He's begun the next phase of treatments and is currently undergoing both radiation and chemotherapy on a daily basis for the next few weeks.
Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of brain cancer that mainly strikes adults. Doctors have no idea what causes the tumor to start growing, but it’s often very fast and invasive. As an example, in Dad’s case, the tumor had started and grown to about 2”x1.5” in only nine or ten weeks. Treatment is designed to slow the growth of the tumor as much as possible. Of course, we’re all hoping and praying for the miracle of a cure, and that Wayne will be back on the water again this summer.