Round 3

This week started pretty quite, however we knew that we were in for a long week, since this was a chemo week. D-Bone came in again for her regular 6 night stay at Hotel Muttz. And for the first time, she was able to sleep in the true guest bedroom, while we stayed upstairs in the Master Suite.

Tuesday started with our regular follow up appointment with Dr. # 4 before chemo treatment. The Dr. explained that today he was going to introduce a new chemo drug to the mix. This particular drug is very important but has not been used up to this point because it was dangerous to B before and after surgery. B was officially cleared and Avastin was officially added! Avastin works by blocking the formation of new blood vessels which in turn interferes with the growth of the tumours.....bada boom bada bing. Dr. # 4 also explained that we may change treatment again pending the results from Cali....we will get to that!!!!

Dr. # 4 also expressed that it might be beneficial for B to have some radiation in his neck. The neck is really killing B again and during the appointment I voiced concern about the neck and Dr. # 4 seemed to agree. B is scheduled for an MRI and CT scan this next week and the results from these tests will determine what will be done next. B also had an appointment on Friday with Dr. # 3 where they discussed what might be done with radiation. Dr. # 3 said that he will most likely schedule B for 15 treatments however, since B did not react very well the first time around, he will likely give him a stronger dose to kill those little leasons in the back and neck. So we go back to meet with Dr. # 3 again this Friday and we will develop a plan from there.

And now to address the Cali issue.....my blood pressue is already rising just typing this. So as you all know we have been waiting on a pathology report from Cali since B's surgery, almost 6 weeks ago. And as a recap, these results determine source tumor and directly deterrmine the medicine that B receives during each chemo. So at our appointment this week with Dr. # 4 the results were STILL not in. Auntie R started doing some digging late last week, and we found out that the tissue sample was never send. That is right the Beaumont pathology department never sent the sample. I was so upset when I got this message that I could not even say words when I called my mom at work. I would have used the F word, but that did not even begin to touch how ticked off I was. Does this person at Beaumont not realize that they are direclty affecting someone's life....no lie!!!! And to make matters worse they tried to blame it on the Cali lab, saying something to the effect that they needed a special kit to ship the sample in. Well I called Cali myself, and Beaumont did not need this special kit for 1, and if Beaumont did request the kit, it is shipped next day air. So bottom line, we should have had these results a long long long time ago. Both B and I were very very disappointed. It just seems that things never come easy for us. We were told that we should have the results early this week, and Dr. # 4 and his staff have been calling every day. The problem is there is not way to put a rush on the test....it takes 5 days no matter what!

Alright enough with the Debbie Downer stuff and onto the positives....Chemo was not as bad this time around, however the side effects were again different. B was very sore and is still not feeling great. Usually the chemo side effects are done and over with by Saturday morning, however they are lingering this time around and B can't seem to get comfortable. The pain seems to come and go so this weekend we worked around the med schedule and we were able to go to a movie, and even golfed 9 on Sunday. All and all things are looking up, and seeing B on the golf course made my heart swell. B is the strongest person I know. He has suffered so much through all of this, but he really is not letting cancer knock him down. Everyone can stand to learn a little something from B that is for sure.

I will keep up with the updates and thanks for stopping by.