Oncologist Appointment

All went well today however it was a long day! It was a quiet ride to the appointment as we were all a little nervous. I have say that changed after we were at the Zang Center for most of the day! We learned so much, they spent a very good amount of time with us explaining the treatment plan, then of course since we were there we got a few of the tests out of the way. Sarah, for now will be our nurse for this treatment plan and she was great. She made us all feel comfortable and she offered lots of information.

Gemzar is the standard chemo for advanced pancreatic cancer however studies have shown that combinations of chemotherapy drugs, called regimens, may produce more anticancer responses and improve the outcomes of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer than treatment with Gemzar alone.

We are going to do a combo treatment consisting of Gemzar and Abraxane. The Abraxane is showing a good response with Pancreatic Cancer so that is good news. However, we need to do some tests before she is treated with Abraxane for several reasons, can she tolerate it and the test will help us measure how it is working. So mom will have a very busy upcoming week, this is her schedule for this week:

Weds CT Scan
Thur Out Patient Surgery - it is minor it will be to put in a PORT and Dr Price will do this surgery.
Fri Education on Chemo class, patient advocacy and EKG

Next week (of course remember Monday is a Holiday):

Tues PET Scan, more blood work
Thur First round of chemo

I am felling somewhat positive of this treatment plan but we still need your prayers for strength for mom to get thru all these tests and begin treatment with and to be able to tolerate the chemo. I feel good about this Abraxane because what I am reading is showing it to have promising results in the advanced stages of PC.

As for mom she is doing very well. I think getting those staples out helped relieve some pain she was having. She did well this weekend; she enjoyed the family and ate well. She seems to be more mobile! And the best was today she really seemed to be alert and comprehending what everyone was saying. It was a lot to absorb and there will be more but she did very well.

Today seeing her, you would not think she had such an advanced stage of cancer. She still doesn’t have the energy she used to have, as a matter of fact she is in bed now but it was a long day! But Dr Segal wants to get her energy and quality of life back up there as he wants her back out there doing her gardening! He is a very nice Dr and mom likes him so that is good. I think it helps to have Dr's you like and feel you can trust.

I hope I have explained everything well enough, all I can do is try :) Thanks again for all your support and prayers, they are working!