We met with our oncologist today to review treatment status following a month of alternative/complementary treatment at Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico which followed six weeks of chemotherapy here in Virginia.
He confirmed the radiologist’s report of no change in tumor size between the 3 January and 23 March CT scans. I saw the images myself. In a review conducted last Friday (March 30) of the 20 February CT, the radiologist now reports no change from 3 January. A stable condition has been achieved. Whether this occurred because of the initial course of chemotherapy (Jan 18 – Feb 20) or from the alternative/complementary treatment (March 1 – March 28), each conducted independently without other concurrent treatment, it is now difficult to determine.
Other factors taken into account in choosing the next treatment step:
My reports of how I feel: greater stamina, greater strength (less fatigue), improved digestion, improved pain management (no longer require narcotic pain medication), clearer thinking.
Physical examination: liver is softer when palpated and size is unchanged.
Of concern is that two measures of cancer activity related to the thyroid continue to increase. We are taking an UltraSound of my thyroid to see if it can be biopsied and identified or eliminated as the primary site. This may give us a different selection of treatment options in the future.
For the meantime, we will carry on, with our oncologist’s blessing, what we have been doing: administering vaccines made from my own blood, the at-home continuation of the alternative treatment begun in Mexico. This technique is under study by US governmental health agencies and is thoroughly familiar to our oncologist.
We are learning to live with uncertainty and ambiguity. But doesn’t that define life?
Copyright 2007
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