Meeting the Doctors

Today was a busy day, with lots of information to digest.

(A lot of technical info in this post so I don't have to repeat all the info 50 times for the family)

We started out by meeting mom's oncologist Dr C.  We immediately liked him.  He has a very warm personality, is very patient and explained everything.  We especially liked that he was very familiar with her medical record and already had a plan in place.

He described the cancer as a soft tissue mass of the mediastinum.  It it mostly wrapped around her windpipe.  He said that 99% of the time, this cancer comes from smoking.  Ironic since she quit smoking about 25 years ago!

They are in the process of scheduling a few more tests, a PET scan and an MRI of the brain.  But while we are waiting for the tests, they are going to go ahead and start her Chemotherapy treatments on Monday. 

Chemo will consist of Carboplantin and Etopside along with IV fluids to keep her hydrated and anti nausea medicine.   Each cycle will consist of Chemo on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Monday will be a long day.  Approximately 5 hours.  Tuesday and Wednesday will be about an hour and a half.  On Thursday she will go in for a shot of Neulasta.  This helps stimulate the growth of healthy white blood cells in the bone marrow.  Then she gets two weeks off, and repeat the cycle again.  She will more than likely do six cycles.

Expected side effects are hair loss (usually starting around the third week), nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss.  There are a slew of other side effects that are possible, but these are the ones that he most commonly sees in his patients.  She will be donating a lot of blood to infusion center nurses who will be testing it all the time to see what might be cropping up.

Next we saw the Radiologist Dr. D.  Just like Dr C, we liked him immediately also.  He showed mom the MRI of her throat and lungs.  It seems amazing she can breathe at all when you look at the film.  The mass is approximately 7cm from front to back and 6 1/2 cm from side to side.

Radiation will start after her first cycle of Chemo.  She has an appointment set up to go back in, and go over her treatment plan and do mapping.  This is where they decide exactly where the radiation is going to go.  Radiation is a very targeted treatment vs chemo that goes through the entire body.  Then she will have the first treatment at the end of the month.  Radiation treatments will be Monday through Friday for six weeks in a row.  This will only take about half an hour in the office.  Approximately 10 minutes of low dose radiation.  This is supposed to help her tolerate the treatment better than if she just received one great big dose.  He doesn't expect too many side effects right away other than a sunburn like reaction on her skin.  The further along the treatment gets, she may have trouble swallowing and a sore throat.  Usually all side effects go away approximately two weeks after treatment is completed.

The treatment may change if the MRI of the brain shows that the cancer has spread there.  If the MRI of the brain is clear, she will have radiation to her brain approximately a month after all her cycles of chemotherapy are done.  This is done as a preventative measure.

So, I think that's everything.  Obviously it was a lot of information to take in, but it's nice to have a plan in place.  She actually said she was excited to start the chemotherapy so that she can hopefully get some relief from the coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

I will try and update here as much as possible, as it is hard for her to talk on the phone a lot.  If I left anything out, feel free to email me and ask.

If you google this type of cancer you will find a lot of negative information.  Her doctors are being very optimistic and we are choosing to focus on the positive.  I would ask all of you to please do the same.

Keep the prayers, good karma and positive thoughts coming our way!
Clair