On 5/12/2008
MarkInMaryland wrote:
And still am, but learning to cope. Just thought I'd give a little update. I made it thru the first round of chemo (four day long sessions once a week) with little or no problems, cept of course my new hairdo. I'm now halfway thru the second round, then we do a CT scan to see if any of the tumors have shrunk. This is the part that scares me now.
If they haven't shrunk, arrested growth, or gotten bigger, my ONC says we'll try a different combination of chemo, then there are clinical trials if that doesn't work.
Three opinions later have all said the same thing, because of the mets to the liver, adrenal, and lymph nodes I am not a candidate for surgery. Sometimes the whole thing is hard to believe, as I have absolutely no cancer symptoms at all. I've lost about 10 pounds, and have the occasional "chemo crash" energy wise, but that's about it. I'll keep you posted, and God bless all of you .
Mark
Hi Mark,
Sounds like you've been through a lot lately. I know what you mean about no symptoms because I didn't have any either and was told right off the bat I was stage IV. Unbelieveable. And I know that scary feeling all too well. I came down with a virus 2 weeks ago and my scans have been postponed until the end of this week. The 3 months is long enough without adding any more time to it.
I do hope yours turn out for the best. It's a good feeling to know that the tumors have shrunk even a little and that the meds are working. Gives you a little added push to keep going. Just don't give up. There's hope for all of us yet.
You might want to ask your onc about Tarceva for future reference. It's worked wonders for me. And it crosses the blood/brain barrier.
At any rate, good luck and keep us posted. God Bless.