Well, this is the first posting on the new blog. I'll be adding more content that will tell my story from the beginning of the cancer roller-coaster ride. For now, I'll start with this week's news. This past Thursday was treatment number 14 - no changes in treatment regimen yet. Dr. Gold (my oncologist) wants me to do two more cycles with the present regimen and then take some more scans to see if there has been any shrinkage in the remaining liver tumors. You will recall that the last scans taken right after Christmas were called a "draw" - no new growth, but no shrinkage either. The tumor marker number that we've been tracking (the "CEA" marker) went up again this time, up to 61 from the 52 that we measured last time. I think that we've seen enough data to think about starting a new drug in the line-up. The next drug will be Erbitux, which is another "biological" agent (a monoclonal antibody) that interferes with epidermal growth factor response (whatever the heck that means). It was the drug that got Martha Stewart tossed in the slammer for insider trading - nothing wrong with the drug, just stupid business practice.
I also had to go back to the treatment clinic today to get another shot to boost my white cell count. They didn't give me the shot yesterday when I went in to get Silent Bob unplugged because we thought we only needed to have done it last time. They called after I left and said that they checked in with my doc, and he said we had to do it again and I had to come back for the shot. The white count was fine on Thursday, but the doc says that it was fine because I had the shot last time. Whatever. I'll talk about it with the oncologist in our next discussion.
Some excellent food for thought this week on my favorite blog - Leroy Sievers' NPR My Cancer site, particularly Thursday and Friday's posts. You can find it at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5497708
Upcoming features coming to this blog will include a "Meet Silent Bob", with pictures of my little electronic buddy, and the sounds that he makes.
-bob
This blog is here to update friends and family to progress in my cancer treatment, and what's going through my head as I navigate my way through all that comes with it. I love feedback - you can post a comment as a subscriber, or email me at haydnprong@yahoo.com. -bob
