Countdown to Chemo!

I know this post is long, and long overdue, but this sort of publishing slippage is exactly what happens when work deadlines, medical appointments, personal deadlines, and the Super Bowl all collide!  You frantically go from one thing to the next, hoping that you have not overlooked some significant detail.  Thank God I made myself relax last night so that I could watch what turned out to be one of the most boring Super Bowls in recent memory.  Well, at least the Game of Thrones commercial was cool!  No spoilers, but it's always shocking the characters they decide to kill off!

Rewind to Last Wednesday (1/30/2019), Meet the Oncologist

I had my first Medical Oncology appointment this past Wednesday afternoon with Dr. Kamal N. Ummed of Georgia Cancer Specialists (affiliated with Northside Hospital Cancer Institute), in Alpharetta. 

Dr. Ummed has over 15 years of experience as a medical oncologist and has recently taken over treating all sarcoma patients (previously under the care of Dr. Gina D'Amato, who has since moved on to a hospital in Miami).  In addition to having an amazing haircut, Dr. Ummed stuck me as extremely caring, compassionate, meticulous, and thorough.  I kid you not, he spent over an hour with me discussing my history with Liposarcoma, my current situation, and the proposed treatment plan.  I made it clear to Dr. Ummed that I had a very specific schedule in mind with my treatment plan and he had no problems whatsoever getting me set up on my preferred dates.

Another really great thing about seeing Dr. Ummed is that he stays in close contact with Dr. Gina D'Amato (my Oncologist from 10 years ago).  Much of the direction and key decision making will come with her input.  What more could one possibly ask for?  I get to be treated by an amazingly cool and experienced medical oncologist locally who works with a team that includes a world-class sarcoma specialist.  Safe to say, I'm in good hands!

Here's a Summary of the Treatment Plan

• Prior to starting chemotherapy, I must first complete the following prerequisites:
• Baseline Echocardiogram (for monitoring heart health during treatment).
• Baseline pelvic MRI (if the one from 01/15/2019 is not considered "current" enough).
• Port placement surgery.  This port will be my main hookup for the chemo.
• All of these will be handled on Wednesday, February 6, 2019.
• The plan calls for 6 rounds of high-dose Yondelis (pronounced yon-DEH-lis), given as a 24-hour backpack infusion.
• Round #1 will start on Monday, February 11, 2019, just one week from today!
• Each round (or cycle) is 3 weeks in total duration.
• Similar to my treatment 10 years ago, I would expect the first 2 weeks of each cycle to be fairly rough, with recovery coming the 3rd week.  But more on that later.
• After 2 rounds, another MRI will be done to verify that the chemo is working as expected.  If shrinkage is not seen after 2 rounds, alternative treatments will have to be evaluated.
• Other checkpoints will be after rounds 4 and 6.

This schedule put me well into June before I move on to the "next phase", which quite honestly is undecided at this time.  Surgery still scares me to death and does not guarantee a cancer-free future.  My preference at the moment is to seek Proton Therapy as the next step and forgo the surgery altogether.  In reality though, I think my best option come June is to seek out an expert 2nd opinion on the matter.  Certainly somebody at MD Anderson (in Houston, Texas), the Mayo Clinic (in Jacksonville, Florida), or even Sloan Kettering (in NYC) would have something definitive to say.

Outpouring of Support

Both Holly and I have been absolutely blown away with the outpouring of support we've received in these past few weeks.  We've received a number of calls, letters, emails, and gifts from longtime friends, acquaintances, current and former colleagues, neighbors, etc.  It's an entire community of people, spread all across the country and even along our very own cul-de-sac, that are actively rallying behind us.  The enthusiasm is contagious and emboldens my resolve to face what is ahead.  It's so good to know that I am not doing this alone!

Also with me every step of the way are the following "battle buddies":

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The Care Bear Story

As you may recall, it was nearly 10 years ago that my wife Holly went through Breast Cancer treatment.  Yes, just as I was finishing up my sarcoma treatment, we got the news about her diagnosis.  That summer of 2009 during her treatment, we sent our boys to a day camp at the nearby Cannon United Methodist church.  It turns out that they have an active cancer support group and when they found out about Holly's condition, the group gave her a pink Care Bear.  This was no off-the-shelve Care Bear, it was custom made.  At the time though, Holly had no idea who actually made these.

Fast-forward another 9 years, to the summer of 2018, and Holly finds herself at a new job with a coworker named Jan.  After being there for a little while, they discovered that they had something in common: Jan was the person who made the pink Care Bear all those years prior.  What an incredible "coincidence"!  After hearing about my diagnosis, Jan put together this super cool part Florida Gator, part Tennessee Volunteer Care Bear.  To me this symbolizes not only that that have we both been through this before, but that we are inseparably sewn together in this journey and that the role of caregiver is every bit as significant (and burdensome) as the role of patient.  What amazing handiwork to pull this off.  Thank you Jan!

Dammit Doll

This thoughtful and funny gift is from one of Holly's cousin Lisa in Colorado.  Not sure that you can read the inscription, but it says:

Whenever things don't go so well, and you want to hit the wall and yell, here's a little Dammit Doll, that you can't do without.  Just grasp it firmly by the legs and find a place to slam it.  And as you whack the stuffing out yell "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

Given that this package is from the cannabis-friendly state of Colorado, I suspect there's more than just "stuffing" inside.  Oh wait, I just checked, and it's just stuffing.  Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!  :)

"Bucket List" Trip Planned

In order to make it through difficult times, I find that it's best to have distractions and something to look forward to.  Work keeps me busy, which I'm convinced is far better than being idle and letting your mind wonder to dangerous "what if . . ." questions.  As to something to look forward to, how about a 7-Night Mediterranean Cruise on the Disney Magic with the family!

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I realize that this may sound like some high-priced, extravagant trip, but I assure you it is being done on a budget.  By cancelling (with full refund) a planned anniversary cruise for this October and putting all of our Disney Vacation Club points towards this trip, it is currently costing us $0.00.  The only real cost will be the round-trip airfare to Barcelona (which is currently "sky high") and any miscellaneous excursions/incidentals.  I'm keeping a close eye now on Google Flights and Priceline.com for deals.

Prior to booking this trip, I looked at the calendar and saw that this cruise perfectly aligned with the "good week" of my 5th round of chemo.  Yes, it would mean that the 6th round would be delayed by a week, but so be it!  This is something that Holly and I always wanted to do and it doubles as a great "senior trip" for our younger boy Kyle, who graduates High School just days before we sail.

The way I justified this expenditure to Holly was as follows:

Before I "sail off into the sunset", I want to "sail, off into the sunset"!

Thankfully she understood my (attempt at) humor and agreed that this was a good thing for the family.

We can't wait!