Jim and I saw his onc. today to get a summary of the CT and Bone Scans and
MRI he's had done recently. Basically, he's eaten up with cancer. As
I have said before, based on my own research, what his onc.'s told us and at a
meeting with some of the top physicians at MD Anderson which I was privileged to
be able to attend for the MAX Foundation, there is no cure for small cell lung
cancer, none of them have ever heard or had a patient who has beaten this thing
and remission in sclc does not mean cancer free. As you can tell, I'm
upset right now, not at any of you my dear friends but for some of the happy,
happy rhetoric and false hope given to certain people who frequent our
doors. I was almost starting to believe it myself until I got slapped up
side of the head today.
Besides the lung, all lymphs, and bone marrow, Jim now has cancer in his
spine, in his spinal fluid and on his bones. While his dr. has always said
she is not God and cannot give you an exact time of when a person will die, she
can utilize the data she has with people who have gone through what Jim has gone
through in the past and what is happening in the present and come up with an
estimate. She always makes you ask her for that time frame as she does not
want to dash hopes unless the patient insists on that information. I, for
one, have always wanted to know that time frame as a guide to where we are and
how Jim is doing, so today we insisted she give us her expertise opinion.
She told us that based on the data she has, Jim's cancer has exploded throughout
his body. She said if he continues on his present course, he could have as
little as 6 weeks to live. She said if things go really well, he might
make it for up to 4 months but definately won't be here at Christmas with
us. They have stopped the radiation as of today but will check him next
week and see if they want to put him through another few treatments. She
has put the decision as to whether or not to start up a second round of chemo
back in Jim's court. She said that with his type of cancer, they had very
little success with second rounds of chemo and he would have to decide if going
through having poison poured into his body again would be worth the extra week
or two it might buy him.
A copy of all of his records have been sent to one of the top oncologists
at MD Anderson that I've met before and he concurs with everything she's said
including no cure and estimated life span left. He also told me on the
phone today after I faxed him the latest info, that he was not aware of any
clinical trials going on right now that would help him plus the possible one or
two that might be interesting to try (anything for science), that Jim would not
be eligible for.
Anyway, based on the above, I'm going to become fairly inactive on the
board as my priorities have changed greatly.. From time to time I will
scan some of the messages but will not be answering any. If you need to
get ahold of me, send it to my direct email address shown below (either will
work) and don't have "MOL" in the subject as that throws the message
into my MOL folder and I probably won't notice it. Also, please let me
know on the big things going on, i.e. how Charlie's doing.
I have enjoyed knowing each and every one of you and will probably be back
in a few months for those broad shoulders that all of you have, in the past,
offered to me. God bless you.
