Popular In All The Wrong Places

I’m happy to say that my latest chemotherapy of gemcitabine and taxotere worked to keep my tumors stable.   Unfortunately my body is not tolerating it very well and the side effects are becoming increasingly more severe and dangerous with each cycle.   I was hospitalized last Friday with a bowel obstruction and have not been able to eat or drink since then.   The reason I cannot eat or drink is that the doctors want the inflammation in my bowel to go down.  Earlier they were concerned I would need surgery to resolve this, and the doctors do not want to do surgery because the scar tissue from previous surgeries makes it difficult and risky.  They are hoping that things calm down on their own once I get farther from the last chemo infusion I had.   

I’ve already told my doctors I don’t want to do a third cycle of this chemotherapy.   That means I will have to try something new or perhaps a clinical trial.  I know it’s risky to come off of a chemotherapy that is working at this point, but I refuse to believe that there is no other chemotherapy that will give me the same results without causing a life or death situation every three weeks.

On a more cheery note, I participated in the Jimmy Fund Telethon last week and it was both fun and a privilege to be a part of such a great cause.    I was interviewed a few times to tell my story and was also invited to meet with Redsox players and watch the games.   Everyone was very nice and the Telethon was a success, raising over three million dollars.   Thank you to everyone who listened and contributed.