Looking at the long-term

I was able to go with Neil to his oncologist appointment this morning. He received his good news from Dr. Mehta's nurse, but he was still nervous about hearing it straight from Dr. Mehta. The doc said he was very happy with Neil's progress and wanted to talk about the long-term implications of his treatment after the clean PET scan. He said he likes to take a middle-of-the-road approach and give his patients just enough chemo--not too much, not too little.

The chemo drugs are very potent and you have a lifetime maximum that's healthy for your body to handle. Dr. Mehta said that Neil was handling chemo very well and he wanted to consider giving him two additional rounds of chemo instead of radiation since radiation has more severe long-term effects. Since two of the tumors (which are now made of scar tissue but need to be shrunk) are near Neil's heart, they obviously want to be very, very careful about using radiation. Dr. Mehta wants to consult with his colleague and the radiation doctor but thinks the two additional rounds of chemo will ensure the cancer stays away while posing the least serious risks.

Neil's blood was good, he's eating and we just had a great Christmas. We've definitely learned some patience through this whole process, and as much as chemo sucks in the short-term, Neil is ready to face a little more if it's better for him in the long run.