WHAT A DAY I HAVE HAD!

Met with a Radiation Therapist early this morning (Schreiber) and he was great (although he had beady, steely eyes that kind of freaked me out!). He told me all about his radiation techniques and how they would work on me. The goal in his treatment of my tumor would be to relieve my pain and discomfort temporarily. He assured me his radiation could not CURE my tumor and it’s unlikely that if he were able to shrink it and then left it alone that it would not return again later. Makes sense to me. The risks are minimal and would most likely NOT damage the healthy part of my liver. He stressed, though, that we really need to find out from the surgeon first and foremost if he thinks he can go in and remove any of this tumor, now or even later if we were able to shrink it with chemo and radiation. That’s next Tuesday morning and the surgeon is great, straightforward and honest so I trust whatever his assessment will be.

Schreiber told me a bit more about the radiation seeds that he can implant in the tumor but that would have to be done surgically and only if resection (surgery by Kortz) was not an option at all. Basically, that would only be done to try to control, though not completely erraticate the tumor, because of where it’s located. He talked with us at length about how we are seeking second and even third opinions from other oncologists. He said the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Cancer Center is really the best way to go in state and if we chose to go to MD Anderson (see below) and they suggested a radiation treatment that he has access to, he’d be willing to administer their plan to me locally (ie. I wouldn’t have to LIVE in Houston for that).

I felt confident in his ability to treat me. Though I am not starting anything until I get all the opinions I am seeking. He will call me back in a week to see if I have more questions or need more help deciding.

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I decided to try MD Anderson. In addition to whatever the University of Colorado can do for me, I decided this type of tumor is so rare (only 19,000 in USA last year), it would be in my best interest to get care from THE cutting edge in the field. I know a lady who knows a lady who is a mucky muck at MDAnderson so we’ve been swapping phone calls all day. Instead of taking the usual route of faxing all my reports to their general GI department and wait 7-10 business days for them to review and call me back, I have a direct line to their leading LIVER TUMOR EXPERT! I have just faxed all my reports (37 pages!) to his assistant who will get them to the doctor to review and they will call me back later this week or early next week (one week at MOST) to let me know if they think I am a candidate for their services. HORRAY! I bet I am. I will be very VERY disappointed if they reject me though. I can’t even think about that possibility right now. Ugh.

My godmother and her hubby live in Houston, very close to MD Anderson. If I can be seen there, we’ll go stay with her for a few days for testing and whatnot. We have a credit with an airline from the Las Vegas trip we had to bail on earlier this month so that will help pay for last minute airfare (cringe!).

I spent most of the day driving from doctors’ offices and hospitals collecting copies of my ultrasounds and CT scans on CD. Now that I’m branching outward from my normal stream of referred doctors, I need to have everything IN MY POSSESSION to hand over, fax, or otherwise deliver to these doctors I intend to see. I think I need a bigger folder!

Also, I called my insurance company to see how much of my trip to MD Anderson or even just the Univeristy Med Center they would cover and WOW! Our medical coverage is GREAT! So no more worries there.

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Some of you have emailed me about alternative/complementary treatments. Thank you for those ideas! I am seeing an acupuncturist/herbalist who has been working in BioPhysics and BioPhotons for years and has even been written up in reputable scholarly journals. My shrink led me to her and I’m excited to work with her. Basically, she’ll assist me in clearing out and aligning my energy centers. This is by no means going to serve as a replacement for conventional therapy, rather as a complimentary treatment. It can’t hurt, huh?

I am also interested in seeking a nutritionist. Before I go cutting out refined sugars, caffiene, foods that are purple or other sorts of crazy dietary changes, I need some guidance. Once I get a treatment plan lined up, I’ll secure a nutritionist and work on that, too.

Today I begin walking mom’s dog EVERY DAY. I woke up to freezing temperatures and snow on the ground but, as it always does in Colorado, the sun has been shining all day and most of the snow has melted already. So I’d better find the leash and get out there! (FYI: I’m not walking the dog in order to lose weight. In fact, since my diagnosis, my doctors are all telling me NOT to lose any weight right now. My appetite is already wonky and I’ve already lost a couple of pounds by accident. Now is not the time for diet! I am walking the dog to get exercise into my life because the books I’m reading both stress the importance of it, even in simple doses like a walk around the block.)

Keep those prayers coming for MD Anderson to accept me!!!!!!! *HUGS*