Cycle 2 Wrap Up

Hello friends & family,

We met with the oncologist on Friday and hoped to discuss how things are progressing now that we’re at the half way point. Particularly since this was the first meeting in which they had both the tumour marker blood results and the pathology of the tumour itself (they analyzed the detailed make-up of the tumour that was removed). This combination of information gives them a much better understanding of Shaun’s specific case (prognosis, likely next steps, etc.).

Instead, all I can say about Friday’s meeting is… it was weird. First, we had yet another oncologist take our meeting (this is the 4th guy we’ve seen so far) who hadn’t even looked at Shaun’s file but had obviously been told about the mistletoe incident. He kicked off the meeting by making sarcastic remarks about Shaun’s naturopathic treatment, then looked at our list of questions and told us that he couldn’t answer them until the entire 4 rounds of chemo are complete and a follow-up CT scan is done. I even had to ask him for the tumour marker results – he didn’t have them ready. Definitely our least pleasant PMH experience so far. Well, that and the time I ordered an egg sandwich and realized they were about to microwave the egg in a plastic bowl??? Am I the only one who knows this isn’t the way to avoid or beat cancer? Good grief.

More than ever I realize how important it is to advocate for your own health. If something doesn’t feel right, demand further testing. If someone isn’t giving you enough information, ask around until you find someone who will. Track your own information. Do your own research. Ask every question. Email the experts directly. Never assume someone else is doing it for you, or that any one healthcare practitioner knows all there is to know.

On a positive note, we finally met our head nurse today who happened to be away when Shaun’s chemo started. She’s fantastic – very warm and light-hearted. It’s funny how a brief encounter with a person like this can make any experience so much easier. Also, we showed the naturopath Shaun’s stomach and she confirmed all was well – although he is sticking with the ‘no mistletoe’ plan.

Now speaking of tracking information, for those of you who wonder what the hell I do all day (i.e. my parents and Natalie) here’s a big part of it: graphs. If you think you may have slipped into a parallel universe where I work with numbers, I prefer to think of it as organizing information — and you know how I like to organize. ANYWAY, take a look at Shaun’s tumour markers to date (click to enlarge):

Although we don’t know exactly how good these results are, we know we want the numbers to be as low as possible. So as far as we’re concerned they’re looking better and better! Bring on Cycle 3 and screw you cancer!

Once again, thank you for your ongoing concern and friendship.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo J & S