Sorry I missed updating round 4 two weeks ago.  Life got in the way. 

The day of round 4 was a roller coaster ride.  Jim had his tumor markers re-tested & a CT scan to check the size of his tumors (the Dr. wanted another PET scan but the insurance wouldn't authorize it).  The tests showed he is having a good response to the treatment.  He's had about 30% shrinkage in his tumors & the tumor markers in his blood went from over 122,000 (normally a person has 0-36) down to just over 35,600!  This was a significant drop in just 3 rounds of chemo & his doctors are pleased but warn that he still has a long way to go.   That was the high point of the roller coaster.  Jim had chemo that afternoon & the next day the roller coaster dropped!  All the side effects got nastier & he basically just got over round four 2-3 days before round 5.  

Round 5

Met with his oncologist & discussed where treatment is going.  The Dr. did a test that shows Jim qualifies for a new biological drug that would replace one of his chemo drugs & generally has a lot fewer side effects.  Jim & Dr. Dayyani discussed it & decided that for right now he will stay with what we know is working, just at a slightly lower dose to help with the side effects.  We met with his pain Dr. today & switched around some of his meds, again to try to manage his side effects better.  Keep your fingers crossed that we hit a good combo today!

 

I'll update in a few days to let everyone know how the new plan is working. 

As always, thank you to everyone who has helped Jim out with their generous support it has helped us greatly with his co-pays.  The bills are starting to roll in so we are getting a better picture of where we are financially & it's not a pretty one.  It would be MUCH worse if Jim didn't have insurance & we are grateful for what they are paying.  I'm still looking for help from the various funds out there with no luck.  The funds sometimes add different drugs or diagnoses that they will assist with so I am hopeful that I will find one to assist him after the first of the year.  

Please keep Jim in your prayers & consider sharing the link for his page to help us get his story out there. 

With love & gratitude,  

Jim& Sheri