One In a million Chordoma

#uronenamillion

Let me start off by telling you who I am. My name  is Joe Gabriel.  I live in Iowa with my wife Judy. We have two grown daughters, a son-in-law and three grandchildren.  Oh ya and soon to be son-in-law to our youngest daughter.

My wife Judy has been diagnosed with a Chordoma tumor on her clavicle. Sounds like a lot of big scary words and it definitely  don't sound good.  We'll your right.  

Chordomas are very rare.  A Chordoma is primarily found on the base of the skull or the lower spine.   This is an example how rare they are. When my wife went to her family doctor for the first time after finding out about her chordoma, her doctor had to look it up on Google. We seen about 6 times so far.

1 in 1 million  people  are  diagnosed with a Chordoma every year. That's around 300 Americans annually.  That's where I came up with #uronenamillion.

The first time I read that stistic I looked at my wife and said to her see now I know you are one in a million.  It's not a laughing matter,  but I always seem be adding humor when it not needed, you Can ask Judy about that, she will agree. 

What we know so far

We know it can't be completely removed and it will someday return.   She also has a chance this tumor could spread to other areas.  So the goal is to remove as much as possible with surgery.  The surgery happens in a week.  After the surgery they will most likely be using some sort of radiation therapy to contain and shrink what is left.

So that is where are today. Pre-op junk.  I will be telling you the entire story in the next couple of days my hope is to have her story told by the time surgery get here.   Follow along with our story, follow along with our journey. #uronenamillion