Update for 06/16/11

I will be undergoing chemotherapy again in about a week and it will be a more aggressive approach. Although my oncologists aren't sure what kind of cancer it is they feel it may be what I had in my neck and throat. She mentioned that lung cancer usually starts centrally in the lung and not peripherally where mine is located. There were a couple of options given for treatment and I decided for the more aggressive approach. This time around I will be having a port placed in my chest next week to accommodate drawing blood and for the ease of administering my chemo drugs. The plan of attack consists of three drugs. Cisplatin, Taxotere, and Fluorouracil(5-FU). All will be given on a Monday session. The 5-FU will be pumped into my system for 4 days by a handy, dandy little pump that I will be carrying on me. On Tuesday I will go back and have a shot of Neulasta which is a white blood cell booster. From my understanding the only drug after the initial Monday chemo is the 5-FU for 3 weeks. This whole process, "Chemo Mondays" and "Neulasta Tuesdays", is considered a cycle. I will do 2 - 4 of these before my radiation treatments. The side effects for all of this is neuropathy(diabetes), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, low white blood count, allergic reaction to the texotere, and last but not least hair loss. The original game plan by the doctor is to be out for 6 months. That is only precautionary until after the first cycle and how my system handles it. If I do well with minimum side effects then I will petition the court to let me come back with IFAM. So for now Sunday, the 26th of June, will be my last day. Thank you for all of your support through all of this. It means a lot to Mary and myself.