T-t- t- t-timelines…
Well, this has been an exciting day. My visit with the radiologists went well and I have signed the informed consent to participate in the phase II/III TNFerade clinical trial. (I tried to bribe the project coordinator to make sure I got ‘randomized’ into the experimental arm, but she said I didn’t have enough money — but did say perhaps we could talk if I won the mega-millions jackpot tonight!) Here are the important dates coming up:
May 16-18: I’ll be up at Scoutland in Gainesville, GA participating in the 2nd weekend of wood badge (the ‘graduate’ level of training for scout leaders) — I’m part of the “damn” Beaver patrol of SR-909.
May 19: Spend the morning with Dr. Kauh (medical oncologist) to get labs and get me ready for participating in the clinical trial.
May 20: Spend the morning doing a “sim” in the radiology department. This is an involved scan to get information so the radiologists can plan my radiation treatments.
May 23: Have my chemo port “installed” and have a final CT scan before beginning treatment.
May 27: Celebrate my 18th wedding anniversary by having my first day of chemo / radiation therapy. If I get randomized into the experimental arm of the clincial trial, I’ll also have my first intra-tumor injection of TNFerade Biologic.
I am hoping that somewhere, during the copious free time in this timeline, I will also have an opportunity to fly to Johns Hopkins to meet with Dr. Cameron for a surgical second opinion. I have sent his office my records and hope to hear from him soon.
As odd as it sounds, I am actually feeling okay at the moment (again, ‘cept for the cancer thing). Seriously, it is easier for me to deal with things knowing there is a plan of action in place (a colleague told me that I was such a “scientist” to be glad to have a plan of action). The radiologist today was less grim about the possibilities of the tumor becoming operable than the medical oncologist has been, so that is also good news.
Finally, I want to take a moment to again talk about my Dad. Ed Hamburger has battled four kinds of cancer (skin, prostate, bladder, and lung). Less than 2 weeks ago, Dad had the upper part of the right lobe of his lungs removed to treat his lung cancer. He was released from the hospital six days after surgery and today is able to go out to a class at his synogogue, have lunch with friends, and tonight he is going out to celebrate his birthday. I hope everyone reading this will join me in wishing Dad a very, very happy birthday!
Merle
And good luck with the damn beaver this weekend
Merle, it was great talking to you today – I’m still processing it all. Reading the earlier entries and catching up on the twists and turns were very helpful. I’m so glad to know you’re in good hands and that you have a team of experts with a plan. I’ll be thinking about you and your family!