On the personal front: As most of you know, my wife Tammy was diagnosed with cancer almost a year ago now and has had several surgical procedures in the last five months (the first, in March, to remove a third of her left kidney; the second, in May, to remove the remainder as well as much of the surrounding lymph system, as the rare malignancy she was suffering from had spread to some of that tissue). As a consequence, she developed a surgical complication known as chylous ascites, which meant that her lymph system was leaking more than four liters of fluid per day into her abdomen. It’s a rare condition, and very dangerous in its own right. After trying dietary manipulations (low fat is recommended to reduce lymph production) as well as five weeks of intravenous feeding—which bypasses the lymph system and allows it, in principle, to recover—we took her to a clinic in Philadelphia run by Dr. Max Itkin, Director of the Penn Center for Lymphatic Disorders, the only specialized unit in existence that deals specifically with the condition that was afflicting Tammy.
On Wednesday, August 21, Dr. Itkin and his colleague Dr. Gregory J. Nadolski, both interventional radiologists, tried a needle-guided procedure to glue the internal leaks shut, after locating them with a poppy-seed derived dye and oil. That procedure failed, as the ducts were too mobile to pierce, even with the exceedingly thin needles employed. They tried two other techniques as well, more standard—but reported to us after several hours that they were unable to repair the problem. That was exceptionally disheartening news, as the Penn clinic was in some sense our last hope. Both physicians did promise that they had other tools at their disposal, but that their use would require more extensive interventions, including, perhaps, additional abdominal surgery. That was a very dark day. But then, something marvelous: in about 50% of cases, the poppy seed dye, lipiodol—which is also a tissue irritant—closes lymphatic leaks. Over the course of the next few days, Tammy’s fluid output decreased markedly. She was put on a low fat diet (taking food by mouth for the first time in five weeks). The flow continued to decrease, so we upped the fat content (as higher fat diets produce more lymph, and also tend to turn it cloudy, so that remaining leaks can be identified as they drain). By Monday, August 24, her production of lymphatic fluid had normalized completely. They removed the catheter which had been draining her abdomen, took out the intravenous feeding tube that had been inserted through the veins in her arm to an area just above her heart—and discharged her. Cured. And, even more unbelievably, all this occurred on the same date as our thirtieth anniversary.
So, we flew back home to Toronto on Tuesday. Tammy’s feeling very good and, although she is still emaciated and much weaker than normal (she lost 15% of her body weight during her ordeals) she has a tremendous appetite and seems able to tolerate almost all foods. Now we’re trying to determine how to return to a life that approximates normal and stable. We still have concerns about the return of the cancer, of course, and have a CT scan scheduled for mid-September, but the last few scans and analysis of abdominal fluid have been clear, so we have reason for cautious optimism.
I’m so shocked by this turn of events (a sentiment shared by the rest of my family) that I don’t know what to think or do. So, I’ll just thank all of you who shared messages of hope and prayers (many of which we printed and posted on the wall of the hospital rooms she occupied for so long in Toronto). They were very helpful.
I was thinking about them earlier and had the feeling that things were better so I am so glad to see that they are 
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