A Long Day At USC

We left Stone Canyon for USC Norris at 6 am yesterday. After the obligatory stops for gas and Starbucks, we arrived USC at 8 am for a blood draw. As Val suspected, her port was clogged and they had to stick her vein to get the sample. Not good. Then back to the Day Hospital to get the port cleaned. Then off to the waiting room for our consult with Dr. Lenz.

Count Dracula from the Lab came back out and told us they needed more blood. Not Good. Fortunately they decided that they had enough blood and a 2nd stick wasn't necessary after all.

Val's weight was good at 119. Her temperature was 97.5. Some of the weight gain may have been caused by fluid retention, however. Her CA19-9 tumor marker was up to 3,357. Not good. I think we all agreed that the last CT showed slight growth of the disease.

USC has recently started using Theraspheres for treating large tumors. Dr. Lenz suggested that we have Dr. Sue Hanks, an Interventional Radiologist review the last CT Scan to determine if Val is a good candidate.

Theraspheres are microscopic glass beads with radioactive Yttrium attached. A catheter is inserted until scans show that it is positioned just upstream of the blood supply to the large tumor in Val's left lobe. The Theraspheres are released and get stuck in the tumor. The Yttrium then kills the cancer cells.

Last night, I asked the Lord to pave the way for Val's approval as a Theraspheres candidate. This afternoon I received an e-mail from USC saying that she is approved. We are calling for our first appointment next week. Please pray that insurance covers this treatment.

Val is scheduled for a stent change in two weeks with Dr. Lo at Cedars Sinai so Dr. Lenz held off on the Avastin infusion since it can cause bleeding. He did, however, note that she was dehydrated and ordered infusion hydration, a 3-hour procedure. She also received the 5FU/LV 48 hour pump Infusion.

Later in the afternoon, we met with the pain management doctor, a nurse practitioner, and two interns. A very profitable session with specific regimens to follow. Going forward, we will be meeting with them regularly.

Val's blood work: Bilirubin good, liver enzymes good, WBC bad, indicate she is still fighting infection, hemoglobin good, Albumen bad, not enough protein being absorbed.

Ascites (fluid retention) is a continuing problem related to low albumen levels, caused by protein deficiency. Please pray that we can make progress on this through additional protein and 75 mg. dosage of diuretic.

Also, please remember Val's dear 5 year old son Gavin. He is intelligent, sensitive, and very aware of the seriousness of Val's disease. The other night he told us he was going to call 911. We told him this was for emergencies only. He said, "my mom's cancer is an emergency." Gavin is having problems reaching the pottie on time. Please pray for him.

Reading an article in U.S. News yesterday on the behaviour of good business and military leaders , I noted a common philosophy employed by these men and women, "IT'S BETTER TO ACT QUICKLY ON AN IMPERFECT PLAN THAN TO INTRODUCE A PERFECT PLAN TOO LATE."

A good philosophy for business, military, and doing battle with cancer. Please pray that we can quickly execute our plan to use Theraspheres.

Godspeed