Sorry for the delay in my blog posting. I have been waiting for the chemo-sensitivity results and have just been informed that we won't get them until Friday now. Here is what we have dealing with over the past couple days...
Yesterday we met with Dr. Roehnisch again. He had read my PET results and was concerned as to why there was a 3.5cm lymph node left behind after surgery ~ so were we!?! After reviewing the PET scan disc with a radiologist, the conclusion is that the large node is probably an early recurrence rather something left behind from surgery. This is very worrisome as it is really becoming clear just how aggressive this cancer is. Their opinion is that the three tumors in the lymph nodes and local area need to be removed as soon as possible. Surgery to remove them and then radiation to prevent local relapse should follow; chemo can wait as the lesions in the bones and liver are relatively small and not problematic at this point. (It sounds weird even to say that as I think it is ALL problematic!!) However, it can't all be done at the same time so it does need to be prioritized. He said that there is little point to doing radiation until the tumors have been removed. Dr. Roehnisch was able to contact Dr. Klimo and he is in agreement that surgery should be the first priorty. I am now just awaiting confirmation from Dr. Klimo that surgery can happen in the upcoming week before Christmas. Dr. R has said that the surgery can be done here within the week; can't even imagine how expensive that would be!!
We also me with Dr. Drazinski yesterday. He suggested a huge naturopathic treatment plan - most of which I am already doing but did have some new, interesting information to add to my current plan. He also explained the use of local hyperthermia to support my chemotherapy and I will definitely add that to my plan when I start chemotherapy. I already have an appointment booked with Dr. Parmar at the Langley Integrated Health Centre; currently the only place in BC that has a local hyperthermia unit.
Although I feel like we've doing a lot of waiting around and it's stressful trying to make decisions when it is difficult to communicate back and forth between Munich and Vancouver, we have accomplished quite a bit in a short period of time. Besides getting the third opinion I was looking for, and a new treatment plan, I also now have a direct connection for future Pachmann testing that can only be done in Munich. The circulating tumors test will need to be continually repeated throughout treatment and even the chemo-sensitivity will probably need to be repeated at some point during chemotherapy. This connection will save us lots of time and money in the future.
Well, that's the update for now. Will post again after we receive the chemo-sensitivity results.
On another note, Munich is SO beautiful ~ especially with the snow everywhere!
No comments:
Post a Comment