Options

Steve had his oncology appointment today and they were glad to see how good he was feeling. That’s always a good thing! His sister met him at the appointment, which was really nice for both Steve and 

I. Sometimes appointments are a lot for me and while I want to be there for Steve, I know he needs me when home the most. Having Jennifer go with him gave him support and let me save my energy for talking and caring for him afterwards.

We were given three options for treatment…one of which stands out as the best for Steve and what, for some reason, I was expecting even though it hadn’t been brought up before.

1. The newly approved chemo pill. This was what we expected to use, but further research showed that the benefits were greatly outweighed by the fatigue. Quality of life…for all of us…is important and no one enjoys life while unable to do anything except sleep.

2. There is a new trial going on at Mayo in Rochester. Dr. Ghosh thinks that Steve would qualify. It’s a drug to use in combination with one he has already used. We know the drug he used has few side-effects, not sure about the new drug combo. We may be able to do the trial here, we may have to do it at Mayo. Contact with Mayo is being made to see if Steve qualifies and what the next step will be.

3. The U is doing a new blood workup that types the patients blood against chemo drugs to see if there is overlap. I truly don’t know what that means other than it could show what drugs to use and which to avoid. Seems like we’d want to do this one right away, but I don’t know if it’s as helpful as it sounds and insurance is iffy on covering it. We’ve used so many drugs already that we know what works and what doesn’t. This test may not show us more than we already know anyway.

Those are the option and while the thought of going back to a hospital usually exhausts me (yes, just the thought), I was somehow prepared for this. It didn’t surprise me, it didn’t even worry me. It’s like I heard what Steve said and thought “Yes, this is what we will do.” Option 2 is what he wants so it’s reassuring to know we’re both feeling good about the same thing.

So we feel hopeful. Very hopeful, actually. That’s all for now. (smile)

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