Yep - here
it is. In one day, we met with the MD Anderson team, have formed a game plan,
& are moving forward. First of, all of the MD Anderson personnel are
amazing, professional, & extremely helpful people! As much of a trauma
& a life-changer of this caliber can possibly be, they were all a joy to
interact with while explaining my options & planning my treatment!
I DO need
another PET Scan in order to evaluate any progression that has transpired. The
doctor believes that we have enough remaining liver tissue to continue testing
it toward the identification of a targeted treatment, so a second biopsy
shouldn’t be required. The PET Scan will be tomorrow afternoon, & we’ll
head back home tomorrow evening. Now - to those dear friends who have offered to
house us during treatments, we’ll be back! Read on...
I’ll be
doing chemo & immunotherapy. The chemo will work to break down the invader,
& the immunotherapy will work to build up my T-cells - making my natural resistance
stronger. The start date will be either June 8th (a Thursday) or June 12th
(Monday). We’ll know which date before
that time. It depends on the liver tissue testing. It’ll mean a drive to
Houston for that one day, or maybe the day before & the day of treatment; a
5-6 hour session in the chemo lab; then we’ll hit the road for home that
evening after the treatments. So, it’ll be for the one day treatments, with a
possible blood test the day before, every three weeks... every three weeks for
the rest of my life. Let me say that again - for the rest of my life.
At this
time, there is no cure & there is no remission. We can potentially ward off
any further advancement. This is not life saving treatment - this is life
extending. We’re buying time, but it’s a tremendous option over doing nothing.
Doing nothing allowed me only six months. What IS my life expectancy with this
plan? Realistically, we can look toward two or three years; but we won’t know
until we see the reactions of my specific cancer cells to the treatments. It
may be longer. Okay - take a breath.
Of course,
being within the MD Anderson system opens the doors for Clinical Trials. We
are, in fact, buying time & stemming the tide as we hope for something that
may be a better, or even less damaging, option. As it stands, we’re on this
train for the duration. This is not bad news. The doctor warned us that there
may come a time when I build up a resistance to these treatments & they may
no longer be beneficial, but we can be on the lookout for other Clinical Trials
as we progress & see what effects I experience. During this two to three
year period, we’ll all be juggling monkeys & hoping that one of them can
fly. Sounds feasible, right?
Until after
beginning treatments, we don’t know just how my body will react to the process.
Therefore, that part’s a complete mystery! For the most part, it appears that I
can make plans around special events or day trips. Maybe not a month away in
Europe, but possibly a week... maybe. We’ll see how I tolerate everything. I DO
plan on making it to the kiting convention in October. We’ll have to gauge from
experience - which will be gained enroute - how much I’ll be able to tolerate
traveling or extended activities. As I’ve maintained, I’m fine right now! But
they have to make me sick to extend my life! It’s just REALLY hard for
me to reconcile!
- Gayle -
