August 17, 2022

I’ve learned that a cancer patients’ life is living scan to scan.  What I mean is a PET or CT is done and treatment is prescribed based on the report from the scan.  For the most part, the effectiveness of the treatment is not known until the next scan.  I tell you this so that you understand why updates from me are not more frequent.  That being said, I did have a CT scan completed August 12 and my oncologist appointment was August 16 to review the results of the scan.  In summary, the report said things are getting worse.

Lungs: Existing nodes are getting larger and new ones have popped up.

Heart: The thrombus is getting larger. 

Liver:  The tumor is getting larger and the other side of my liver (healthy side) is showing signs of cancer activity. 

Airway to lungs:  this was the only good news. It appears the radiation treatment has been effective to the point where they are considering additional radiation treatment.

Strangely, despite this news, I feel great and remain active. The strategy going forward is to stop the chemo pills since they have proved to be ineffective and begin the infusion therapy once again with the same drugs (Opdivo and Yervoy) that I started with. As a reminder, these are the drugs that have affected other organs in my body and turned me into a diabetic. However, my doctor is running out of tools. At the same time, he has recommended that I go to Roswell cancer center in Buffalo, NY to see if I qualify for phase 1 clinical trials. Phase 1 is newly developed drugs/procedures that are experimental and have not yet been approved. Basically, “guinea pig” type stuff. If this next round of treatment proves to be ineffective or damaging, then we are into “Hail Mary” type stuff. Infusion therapy and my first appointment in Buffalo should take place before the end of this month.  I’m staying strong with a good attitude and looking forward to the Lindsey/Travis wedding next month and an Amazon fishing trip in January!!  Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.