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| Now, Mom, Here's What The Doctor Said |
On December 22, 2011 our first born daughter drove her mother and me to the Medical Oncologist's office for consultation on the type of treatment I was to receive.
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| Frances waits in the lobby with a handful of papers to read which tell about different options for treatment of my cancer. |
There were three options: 1) A surgical port could be placed under the skin on my chest and this would become the entry-way for the chemicals that would be used to fight the intestinal stage four cancer. It was explained that via this port I could avoid having the nurses search for a good vein each time I came to the treatment center. Blood samples for lab testing could also be taken through this port. This would require minor surgery. 2) I could opt out of the surgery and trust the nurses to find the vein each time. Since I have had the nurse miss the vein a couple of times already, I decided I did not like this option. 3) A third option would be to take chemo via a pill (actually four pills a day) that is still somewhat in the testing stage as far as side effects go.
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| Number One Daughter, who is a school teacher, sits with pen in hand...ready to take notes |
I asked the doctor to allow me to sleep on this decision. At first I felt that it would be easier to just get the pills and take them - but then I would still have to go to the treatment center every couple of weeks for lab work. So with either of the three options we must travel to Chattanooga for this treatment. That's not bad for it is only about 30 miles from our home in Cleveland. Too - I wanted to talk this decision over with Frances. Fifty four years ago the two of us became as one.
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| So we stopped by the Cracker Barrell and went to the "Consultation Room"! |
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| Second Born, "Favrite One" daughter was available for the first day of Chemo So Chemo therapy sessions started on January 4, 2012. I will be going to the treatment center every two weeks to spend 5 to 6 hours in a recliner, allowing the doctors to inject chemicals into my system that are designed to kill the "bad cells". The problem with all the methods of administering the chemo remains the same. The chemo can also kill some of the "good cells", thus creating sometimes severe side-effects. I will be o.k., I know that for sure. However, I will appreciate your prayer that God will cause the chemo to do what it is designed to do in killing the bad cells and pray that at the same time it has no effect on anything that my body needs in order to get well.
 Go Ahead! Make My Day! |
