March 2012

I just have a few updates for everyone but overall the news is pretty good!

On March 1st the surgeon from Ottawa called and told us that his referral to the doctor in Toronto was successful. The surgeon from Toronto believes he can perform the surgery. I am still waiting for the consultation appointment with him but very happy he has agreed to take my case. Our world is very small! The week before I received confirmation from Toronto a family member noticed an article in the Toronto Star about an outstanding surgeon ......turns out it is the same doctor I will be going to see. Here is the link to the article. A lot of his work is around the liver but his experience with arteries and vessels is what caught my eye and provided somewhat of a comfort level. http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1136621--toronto-surgeon-redefines-hopeless-cancer-cases

Last week I had my follow up CT scan and then met with my Oncologist on Tuesday of this week. The scan showed the tumour had only grown about 10% over the January scan which I thought was pretty good. Unfortunately my oncologist had not received any notes from the Radiation Oncologist or from either surgeon, he was relying on us to update him. The surgeons office in Ottawa called me on Monday to see of I heard from Toronto yet and to let me know that the Toronto surgeon wanted me to start chemo right away. Who knows if he sent this request to try and shrink the tumour or if he anticipates the surgery wait to be long. Still some unanswered questions in that area.

I will be starting chemo next week but the day has not been confirmed. The treatment this time will be a cycle of every two weeks. One day at the hospital with about 4 hours of IV infusions and then two days at home with an IV canister. The cocktail is different from the previous clinical trial but I believe two of the drugs are the same. Only problem is one of the drugs is the one that I had the allergic reaction to which means I will need the heavy dose of benadryl with each treatment.....that wipes me out!

I won't see my doctor again until after my second treatment and my next CT scan will be early May.

Hopefully very soon I will get the call from Toronto!

Have a good day,

Karen