Day Three of Doctors' Week

Because of my dizziness I did postpone my eye doctor appointment today. It cuts down on "Doctors' Week" a little for me - which is a plus for now. But I'm still looking forward to getting in to see these guys as they hatch a plan to try to correct my fourth-nerve palsy (a birth condition that makes my right eye lose track of my left eye's movement).

But I'll be calling my oncologist's office today to schedule an appointment and check on availability of an appetite drug that's been working well for me.

The trip to Philadelphia went well yesterday. I can't thank Barb's Dad enough for driving us to the University of Pennsylvania. When you're talking about Penn you're talking about downtown Philly, in the shadows of the skyscrapers. There's a special attitude necessary for sucessful urban driving - and Bill's got it. And we had a little help from a computerized woman named "Garmin" and her constant directional advice from satellite.

And I'm very thankful for my support team of Barb and my Mom joining us for the trip. It's good to have some numbers there to quiz the doctor and keep everything in line, not to mention the company amid waiting in this lobby, and this room, and that room.

The meeting went well.

Basically the kidney cancer specialist thinks this is an excellent time to get in and go after the one tumor in my body, in the upper lobe of my left lung. And this doctor knows a surgeon who can do it in a minimally invasive way. He calls it "ablation." A needle is inserted into the center of the tumor and then is either frozen or blown away with direct radiation. It's an out-patient procedure. The doctor spoke that he's had great results with his associate's success with this procedure.

We all agreed that it's a good idea. We're going after it.

The only down side is having to make a few trips to Philadelphia to make it happen. But if that's what we have to do, we will do it. First we're also going to investigate some surgeons locally to see if they are also performing this relatively new technique.

As far as the chemo goes, the kidney cancer specialist believes that the Nexavar I've been taking for the past year is definitely working. So, he asked, "Why switch now?"

We all agreed.

The only logical rationale for a change in chemo at this time would be the toxicity of side-effects. And that is somewhat of a concern for me. But, the specialist did give me his blessing to cut my current dosage of Nexavar, or even take three-months completely away from it. He said it's really all a balance of how aggressive I want to be, or what level of quality of life I'd prefer.

I will have to stop taking the chemo before, and then after, any surgical procedure is done. The chemo reduces the body's ability to heal.

So my plan for now is to reduce my Nexavar daily dosage by half. I'd like to see if that can help me build some strength back, and lower the effects of the tough side-effects.

That reduced dosage should lead me into stopping the chemo completely before a procedure and then after. We'll decide on an appropriate time to stay off the chemo and then I'll likely be aggressive and get right back on full dosage.

It was a day where we expected to face some big decisions. But really the kidney cancer specialist agreed with perspectives we were all going into the meeting with, giving us great confidence on how we're going to proceed after a year of treatments. It really does lay the groundwork for the next year of fighting.

We all got back tired and exhausted from the time spent in the car. My butt hurt.

I found out late yesterday that my nephew Ellis has been praying for me. He ends his prayer each night with "make sure Uncle Jim stays healthy forever and ever, AMEN!"

Awwwwww. Where would I be without Ellis?

Where would I be without all of you?

Thanks. Thanks so much.