Back in the chemo saddle

A lot has happened since my last post and since I left off with my mention of the octreotide scan I guess that’s a good place for me to pick up with.

The octreotide scan was an interesting 3-day experience.  The first two days were run of the mill imaging that started with a nuclear injection and with scanning that lasted no longer than 30 minutes.  The third day was different with scanning that took around 90 minutes and with the last 60 of that being one long segment.  For anyone that has had imaging done where you have to stay still with your arms over your head knows that 60 minutes is a long time.  Wow was that uncomfortable and I’ll be happy to not have to repeat an octreotide scan anytime soon.  All of this imaging was stitched together into a 3-D view that I hope to get to see at some point.  It sounds interesting.

The scan results told us about the liver lesions we already know all too well about and it also flagged other places that I have been feeling discomfort.  These were my sacrum, iliac bones, and sacroiliac joints as well as a rib (and it's the rib that is actually the most uncomfortable).  With my chemo treatment this week Amy and I discussed all of this with Dr. Richards and for the time being we’re going to manage the pain while expecting the new chemo protocol of VP-16/Carboplatin to do its job.  With that said, Amy and I will be sharing the scan results with both the radiation oncologist as well as with Sloan-Kettering to see if they have other opinions.

We didn’t actually see the scan results until this past Monday when we returned from a week away at Lake Tahoe and Colorado.  It was fantastic to have that time away even though we didn’t really do anything that was overly active.  The mellow time around the hotel pool and taking in the sites of Tahoe was great.  When the hotel pool closed to accommodate renovation work we got in the car for a drive and wound up in San Francisco.  We didn’t realize we were only 3-4 hours away and spontaneously decided to keep driving and we had a nice lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf.  While in Colorado we were able to spend time with Sasha as well as with some of our favorite people in the world, the Quinns.

This weekend is an informal 35^th reunion of my Union High School class of 1977 that is generously hosted by Joe Falgares at his house on the water in Toms River.  Last year was a blast and it looks like the turnout this year is going to be even better.  People are coming from all over the country.  I can’t wait.

And the weekend after that….. yep, it’s Livestrong time!  With my recent medical developments it’s going to have to be a game day decision for whether I’m able to participate in anything.  But I want to do this so badly and I’ll be pressing very hard to get on my bike and spin very gingerly through the 20-mile route.  I’ll have plenty of people with me to take care of me and even to physically push me up hills if I need it.  Thank you to all of you that have generously donated to the Livestrong cause.  My personal fundraising is at $5,585 and our Mintz’s Mentschen total is at $25,318.  These aren’t’ our biggest totals but they’re clearly quite impressive.  Heartfelt THANKS to all!