Decisions

Well It’s been a week since Pat had the third treatment of this current chemo drug.  She is still sleeping a lot but not quite as much as before.  Her appetite has not returned to normal but it is better than it had been.  We had a second visit with the dentist the day before her infusion as she was having pain in another area of her mouth.  The dentist decided since Pat wasn’t able to determine which tooth was the cause of the pain, that she was probably dealing with an infection in the area.  So rather than pulling a tooth that may not be problematic he decided she should try an anti-biotic and a special germ-killing mouthwash.  As you know Pat has “issues” with antibiotics, as in she is allergic to most.  Pat wasn’t sure she should take the one he prescribed this time, so for the next 3 days we did this “dance” about whether to take it or not.  We even discussed it with the oncologist and he suggested she take it for 5 days rather than the 10 the dentist prescribed.  He also looked up her allergies and said she should be OK with this particular drug.  So Pat decided she would start it the “next day” rather than the day of her infusion.  The next day came and she had changed her mind and was asking questions of me as to whether I thought she should take it, like we hadn’t already discussed this for two days and made a decision.  It was at this point I realized her gut was probably telling her not to take it so I just told her (in a surrendering tone, no less) “if you don’t want to take it, don’t!”  To which she answered “I’m sorry for asking you all these questions”, her code for letting me know she felt like I wasn’t being patient enough with her.  The end result was she didn’t take it and the next day she had  a “digestive issue” which had she taken the anti-biotic I’m sure we would have blamed the issue on it.  So again I learn to trust her judgement (if you haven’t figured it out my vote would have been to take the drug).

We also had a consultation with the oncologist this visit.  He asked if she was ready for a break from the regimen after her next infusion.  He said she seemed to be tolerating the new drug fairly well, a loss of about five pounds wasn’t concerning to him but he said he normally prescribed 4 sessions and then a break.  I expressed my concern about taking a break in that each time in the past when she took a break the cancer would start growing.  He stated it was her decision and if she wanted to continue she could.  He was just thinking she might want a break for Christmas, but the decision was hers.  Ultimately what we decided was that we would have the MRI and CT scan done on the next visit and based on the results of those tests we would make the choice of continuing or breaking.  We discussed the new targeted chemo treatment for persons with the “ALK” gene but he said she wasn’t a candidate for that as she had a cancer primarily caused by smoking and involving a brain metastasis which most experimental treatments would disqualify her from using.  He also explained to us that each successive chemo treatment he was using targets a different step in the reproductive process of the cancer.    I also asked him about Pat being in the casino restaurants with the second hand smoke that abounds there.  He said that isn’t a problem, he would be more concerned about her being around the people.  That was a HUGE relief for me as I thought that maybe her eating in restaurants with the odor of the smoking might have contributed to the cancer growing.

We watched a program  called “The Wayman Tisdale Story” the other day.  According to a cousin of mine, when Wayman visited the Boy’s Club my uncle directed a few years ago, he discovered we are related.  For those of you who may not know who he was; he was a jazz musician that played the bass and had 8 CD’s (or 9 if you count the “best of” CD) and that was after a 12 year career in the NBA.  He played on the Olympic basketball team in 1984 along with future dream team members Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin winning a gold medal in Los Angeles.  He was the second player picked in the 1985 NBA draft following Patrick Ewing.  He was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in March 2007 after falling and breaking a leg in his home.   This cancer is normally one that attacks young adults in their teens or early twenty’s, Wayman was 42 at the time.  The leg was later amputated but that didn’t stop him from continuing his career as a musician until May of 2009 when he died.  Pat and I had a chance to see him play and speak with him a couple of years before he was diagnosed, but we didn’t know we were related at that time.  I read something recently that he said, something I will hold close;

“You can never give up because quitting is not an option. No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight.” ~ Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009)

l was looking at her results from her last blood tests this morning, (I would normally review them with the nurses at the time of her infusion but because of the oncologist’s consultation, I missed it).  They showed an abnormally high white cell count.  It has doubled since the test done September 22nd.  I know that she was fighting the tooth problem in October and then again this last visit and since she hasn’t run a fever I’m not overly concerned.  She professes to feeling well and has not complained of chills so right now I’m just keeping an eye on her for any warning signs.  It is probably just her body fighting the tooth infection as she didn’t take the anti-biotic this time and wasn’t prescribed any the first time.  All in all, we are waiting on the Lord, His will be done.  We are still praying for healing and are thankful for each day we awake and can give Him praise.  Please pray with us and for us that her test results are good news and know that we ask God to bless each and every one of you every day.

Floyd