Passing the blood test

So here’s the latest news on the cancer front.  First, Johnny’s CEA (tumor marker) level was 4.4 last week.  This is in the range of someone who has never had cancer.  It is far from foolproof and not commonly used as a guaranteed predictor of anything. But many doctors use it as an additional tool to monitor disease progression or possible return. Johnny is tested before every chemotherapy infusion. Normal is 0.0 – 5.0. 

Dr. Miller – an associate of Dr. Segal discussed with Johnny that his platelets were low at last check, and so he received a reduced dose of chemotherapy.  They will watch his blood counts closely and will adjust future infusions as necessary.  This is nothing unusual, just a part of the poison/don’t kill the patient balance. It does raise the question as to whether he'll be ready to go for another treatment on the 23rd. And another great reminder that we need to continue to eat right, exercise, decrease stress, and meditate.

Johnny is still struggling with nausea for the first few days after chemo treatments. It’s hard to convey just how awful the feeling is if you’ve never had chemotherapy, but if you have uttered the words, “God if you just let me live through this….” you kind of get the picture.  And nausea, just like chemotherapy is cumulative.   Compazine the first antiemetic that Johnny was offered did nothing.  The second and current antiemetic is Zofran which comes with a warning – not to be used with liver disease.  Makes you want to say WTF?  The next drug that is usually offered is Zyprexa, which, by the way, is used to treat bi-polar and schizophrenia when taken in higher doses.  One other drug that we just discovered is Marinol – the pharmaceutical grade THC that can be prescribed for chemotherapy induced nausea.  We’ll be asking about this at our next appointment- so frustrating that we have to be the ones researching and asking questions.

Speaking of which, we have contacted Dr. Ko, the researcher who developed 3-BP.  She is having a family crisis of her own, so we can only hope that she will be back in her office with the crisis resolved quickly.  We’re hopeful for consideration as “compassionate care” or a 3-BP clinical trial.  So keep the prayers coming and have an awesome weekend!