Creating a battle plan.

Denise and I went to oncology together on the 12th of May to find out what can be done. We met with Dr. Kengla and discussed Goliath in some length. It was made clear that because he has done so much damage by being mobile and has grown so large and so strong that there is no way to completely eliminate him now! The word used was "incurable." Yet again more stuff I didn't want to hear. So what can we do? There is a treatment aimed at this type of situation. It is called Folfox. If employed and it is effective then we might be able to hold Goliath off for a while, but not forever. The programme is a one week on and one week off of Chemotherapy. The chemo drugs are Advastin, the newest of them and it is a target specific drug that destroys the blood supply to tumors. The others are Oxaliplatin, Leucovorin and 5-FU or Fluorouracil. These drugs try and kill Goliaths cell structure. These are the nondiscriminatory drugs and will kill some of my good cells as well. This is where all the side affects come from. All these drugs are to be infused intravenously. The 5-FU will be infused as all the others and then I will be hooked up to a constant infusion bottle that I will wear in a fanny pack that will continue to pump this drug into me for a constant 48hrs. I need to have a Port-A-Cath implanted before Chemo can begin. Great another small surgery. This is a device that is plumbed directly into a major vein near my heart and implanted in my right upper chest near my right collar bone. It is an access port. This way the treatment will not destroy the veins in my arms. This port also allowes for the connection of the continuous infusion bottle of 5-FU. Yes I even have to sleep with it. Not the kind of mistress I would have chose. Goliath is well beyond surgery now and radiation is not a viable option because of Goliaths mobility. Folfox is the first line defence. There is another program used in Europe and England called Folfury. It is generally less effective and the side affects are harsher but some times it is used in the U.S. as a second line to Folfox. All my treatment is aimed at extending life. Not cure. So we are hoping that I cope well with this treatment and the side affects are minimal and my quality of life can continue.