The fight plan

    We now have a plan to curb the cancer.
    We are going to fight it with six weeks of simultaneous chemo (Gemzar) and radiation starting Friday, Jan. 6. It's rather conventional treatment. Nothing exotic. No herbs, acupuncture, laetrile or the like. We are confident the chemo/radiation plan will work.
    The six chemo infusions will be once a week on Fridays and take about 30 minutes.
    The radiation will be 28 treatments Monday-Fridays. Its start will lag the chemo by about two weeks.
    Initially, we thought I could have the Hershey Medical Center radiation oncologist as my doctor, but get radiated in Lancaster. It turns out that plan will not work as there are different "platforms" used at different places, based on the equipment and treatment plan. So instead of dealing with two different institutions we decided to go to Hershey for radiation as well; keeping it all under "one roof". That way if there are any problems during treatment we don't have to deal with poor communications or blaming each other. I know that can be messy. The oncologist and the radiation oncologist can talk to each other in the hallway at Hershey. It is a 50 minute drive, one way. Depending on my side effects, I will likely be calling people to help give me some rides.
    My oncologist is Nelson Yee. My radiation oncologist is Heath Mackley. We are very impressed with both of them. We visited Mackley on Tuesday and decided then to use his expertise. Mackley minored in psych and philosophy in college and much of that is evident in his website here. I recommend you go there and read some of his essays. I like his style. I did not, however, enjoy hearing some of the possible problems/side effects of radiation.
    Friday, Jan. 6 will be very busy day at Hershey: starting at 8 am:

• radiation mapping
• blood work
• CTscan to set a baseline for the tumor for future diagnosis/treatment
• first chemo infusion

    So, at least for now, that's how we plan to "deal with the real".
    After reading over this post I realized it has a tone indicating that we really have a grasp of the situation. Believe me, that is not the case. Our heads are spinning. We continue to ask for your prayers for peace of mind in the decisions we've made so far and the choice of medical services and treatment. Thanks for your support.