Kind of Rough Day

I always go into appointments with my oncologist with a plan. Problem is, my oncologist always goes into an appointment with me with a plan as well. We really should share a synopsis of our plans with one another before we meet.

I was a little surprised, and a little confused by the oncologist's plan. He rationalized that the cancer was wide spread, and the last chemo had not worked at all, and there was no new chemo available. I had already been on all four types of chemo that are available.

"Are we giving up?" I asked him.

"No, no Jim," he fired back, "I am not giving up on you."

Whew.

My cancer is very advanced and very wide-spread. It is a terminal cancer without a cure - as of yet. It is in the brain, both lungs, in a few bones, in a few organs. It's everywhere. I could tell the doctor was rationalizing that with such wide-spread cancer, and no chemos really being able to control this monster completely, or new ones available, that it might be time for him to concentrate on caring for the problems that may arise from this systematic disease rather than the disease itself.

This still sounded like giving up to me.

But then the doc started revealing his plan from here. He wanted to start me on Interferon, a drug that is used in many cancers, to help boost the immune system so the body itself starts to attack the cancer. The Interferon will be administered by injection, three times a week.

He wants to meet again in three-weeks and then have more scans done in six-weeks to see if the Interferon has done anything at all.

In the meantime, he's sending me down to meet a kidney cancer specialist at the University of Pennsylvania. This will not only be a second opinion but a connection with a doctor who is closer to the newest drugs, and the possibility of entering a clinical trial.

In the meantime, Barb and I have decided that I should start taking a natural supplement called Milk Thistle. It's a Mediterranean flower that has been used very successfully to heal and protect the liver. There is some evidence that it offers benefits beyond that as well. My Mom's doctor strongly recommended it, and said that it had helped his own father.

I do plan to get back to the Gamma Knife once again when my current radiation treatments conclude.

The first night after my first Interferon injection I did feel some of the side-effects. The side effects are mainly flu-like symptons. Last night some of those set in and I felt extreme chills, headaches, and eventually became sick to my stomach. They were all advertised side-effects.

So we didn't expect a lot of what the oncologist ended up discussing with us. That has become par for the course. No matter how well I try to prepare myself, I'm still walking away a little confused, trying to absorb everything that was said. I'd love to be able to have some time the day after an appointment for questions and responses.

Well, I do have his cell phone number...