Chemo. Round 2. Day 4. Appointment with Dr. Robinson.
I came home to this amazing surprise from some dear friends. The card read in part: “My husband collects shark teeth, and he wanted you to have these. When he looks at them, he sees a creation of God’s that weathered harsh conditions and even though battered, survived. We hope these will be a symbol of God’s goodness, sovereignty, and love for you.”
Backstory. I recently asked Dr. Robinson for a CT scan because I have a lump in my lower abdomen that’s sizeable and has not gone away.
Labs and the CT. I had labs on Monday that indicated impaired liver function. I had the CT on Tuesday, and it indicated multiple sites of disease.
Today’s visit. I want to start out by saying I am so glad I am back in Wilmington for care. Dr. Robinson is pretty awesome, and it is so easy to pop over to Zimmer for appointments like this instead of driving all the way to Durham.
Monday’s lab indicated impaired liver function. Combined with the CT results, I thought Dr. Robinson would point to the cancerous nodules as the cause of that impaired function. Instead, he believes that the liver function impairment might be because of Taxol (one of my chemotherapy drugs), not the cancer. He has been leaning toward changing my chemo drugs anyway because Taxol is so harsh on the body and I have had platelet and ANC issues. If the decision is made to change my chemo regiment, we will likely choose Abraxane instead of Taxol.
He wants me to continue chemo, and he wants me to complete 6 rounds, if possible. The reason he had agreed to the CT at my request was because I have had a lump in my lower abdomen. The CT scan showed that is an enlarged lymph node, not a cancerous nodule, so he was confident that we're not in any great rush with making any changes to treatment at this point.
He wants me to have blood work and see him again May 11 with the goal being to have Round 3 of chemo on May 18.
I am going to Duke the afternoon of May 11 to check in with Dr. Rossi, and Dr. Robinson is aware of that. He also knows I have spoken with Dr. Hillman in San Diego. Dr. Hillman's opinion was to do at least 3 rounds of chemo before making any decisions, so this all tracks.
Dr. Robinson also said he had no problem with me traveling as planned the next two weeks. So, all in all this was a good and reassuring visit, and today he shared that he has other patients with recurrent GCT and has tried a variety of treatments with them. In 2023, that was not the case.
I came home to this amazing surprise from some dear friends. The card read in part: “My husband collects shark teeth, and he wanted you to have these. When he looks at them, he sees a creation of God’s that weathered harsh conditions and even though battered, survived. We hope these will be a symbol of God’s goodness, sovereignty, and love for you.”