Game on.... again

Our visit to MSKCC last week went well.

Dr. Meng was in complete agreement with the primary chemo drug selected by Dr. Richards, Irinotecan. He mentioned some options for a second drug to use with it that we’ll have to discuss with Dr. Richards when we go tomorrow for the first treatment of 2011. Woo-hoo!

What was especially good about the trip into Manhattan is that Dr. Meng was able to suggest some other drugs that we can queue up as treatment to use down the road. That gave me some good peace of mind.

Since the visit went well Amy and I were in a decent place mentally to stay and have dinner in Manhattan. I knew a place nearby and weren’t we surprised when the hostess sat Jay Manuel from the America’s Next Top Model TV show at the next table. Before you wonder too long about how I could possibly have known who this guy was please remember that I have 3 daughters. Enough said.

I won’t whine about the snow since I’m sure that everyone is sick of it at this point. But I’d kill for a decent bike ride! Actually there’s a lot of excitement building for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering spinning event on February 12^th. Thank you so much for the donations that are continuing to come in. For anyone still considering it here is a link to my donation web page è http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/jmintz

Sloan-Kettering tomorrow

It seems that my comments in recent posts about MSKCC, while trying to generate some excitement and donations for the upcoming Cycle for Survival event, were somewhat prophetic. After Amy and I met with Dr. Richards last Tuesday I knew that we really needed to visit Sloan-Kettering as soon as possible.

The meeting with Dr. Richards set a course for yet another chemo protocol and we had even scheduled the first three treatments. But, as I mentioned, before we get too far ahead of ourselves I want to touch base with Dr. Meng at MSKCC to get his perspective and to see if there are any other options we should consider.

Amy and I will be braving the expected wet weather and heading into Manhattan for a late day appointment with Dr. Meng tomorrow.

I’ll post an update as soon as I can.

Thanks very much to all that have donated to Cycle for Survival. We’re nearing our minimum fundraising amount. I received an email today and was thrilled to see that the overall event fundraising is already over $2.2 million.

Déjà vu all over again, all over again

I spoke with Dr. Richards yesterday morning and I’m sorry to say that the results of the PET/CT were ridiculously familiar. I was expecting this and, therefore, I was prepared for it but nevertheless it was still disappointing to hear that the lesions on my liver have had some growth yet again.

Amy and I have an appointment to see Dr. Richards on Tuesday afternoon where the mission will be to decide on the chemo protocol that we’ll be using. In my mind this discussion with Dr. Richards could prompt a visit to Sloan-Kettering for a consultation and/or a prompt start of treatment by late next week. Dr. Richards has been in contact with MSKCC directly over these past 3 years so we may be able to reach out via telephone. I’d expect though that MSKCC would want to see the PET/CT so luckily I was thinking ahead and asked for a CD of the PET images before leaving Princeton Radiology on Thursday.

There’s not too much more to say until I get more details. I’ll post new information as quickly as it becomes available next week.

I will be making every effort to still ride in the Cycle for Survival on February 12^th. Minimally I will be there to cheer on my Mintz’s Mentschen teammates. If you can consider a small donation I had included the link in my recent blog posts, below. Thanks!

As all of you know by now, over these past 3 years I've been blessed by friends that came together and formed a cycling team "Mintz's Mentschen" and we've collectively raised over $105,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation via their LiveSTRONG Challenge events. Dan Nies spoke with our amazing contact at LAF, Dylan Trakas, just yesterday. Dan had a follow-up email exchange with Dylan and I happened to notice the following in Dylan's signature block at the bottom of his email. It's definitely something that I had to share here. Words to live by that's for sure.

LIVESTRONG means doing my part to kick cancer in the face.

Tic toc

As my friend Dan Schneider so often reminds me, and in the words of Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part. I saw all my friends at Princeton Radiology this morning, Betsy, Nick, and Shane and now I wait for the phone to ring.

But the day has been a productive one since I was also able to take the car for an oil change. LOL.

Crunch time..... again

The extended silence is because things have been going well during my 3-month chemo vacation. Until the recent rounds of snow/rain my cycling fitness was improving surprisingly quick. On December 19^th I rode solo for 56 miles from Princeton Junction to Brick and on other rides with Dan Nies I was doing some respectable climbing. Unfortunately the weather clobbered our Tour de Hot Chocolate plans. We'll be watching the weather with the hopes of making it happen at some point.

Without chemo by early December my nickname could easily have been “fuzzy”. No other nickname suggestions necessary, thank-you. And although it’s making an attempt my hair isn’t really coming back very well at this point so I think I’ll probably be shaving it very soon.

Now that I’ve reached the end of my 3-month break I’ve been a bit distracted and anxious to get my PET/CT done this Thursday morning. Good or bad the results will allow me to get down to the task at hand. If it’s back to treatment then so be it. And if I get to extend my chemo vacation a bit longer then my focus will be toward continued fitness improvement, hopefully some weight loss, and also goal setting for some near term cycling events. But the waiting is wearing me out so I’m glad the time has come for the scan.

And since I haven’t seen the gastroenterologist in a while I have an appointment with Dr. Dhar tomorrow afternoon. My expectation is that she’s going to want to schedule an endoscopic ultrasound to take a closer look. It’s an easy procedure and the results will help us to know more clearly what my status is.

December was fun since both Sasha and Bailey were home for a few weeks. Erin even did a couple of fly by's and it was truly bizarre having the house completely full. We had fun watching family video that we recently converted from VHS to DVD. Today though I came home to the empty nest and it’s going to take some time to get used to the quiet again.

My participation in the Cycle for Survival event to raise funds for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is only 4 weeks away. 6 of us will be wearing our Mintz’s Mentschen jersey and sharing a single spin bike for a 4-hour spin at a health club in mid-town Manhattan on Saturday, February 12^th. It’s a mass spin event and there will be hundreds of other teams cycling as well. The event has already raised over $1 million. All funds that are raised will be allocated directly to MSKCC research and clinical trials within 6 months of the event. If you’re able to consider a small donation I’d appreciate it very much. Thanks so much to those of you that have already donated!

Link to my fundraising page è http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/jmintz