Bad News

Today we spent 2 1/2 hours at OHSU. We first talked to a "Fellow Doctor" of Dr. Chui's. He said there was a significant change in the tumor from last November. It is growing down around Curt's carotid artery and up towards his brain. If it continued to grow unchecked into the brain, Curt could have symptoms of meningitis (stiff neck, sensitivity to light, confusion, etc.). Growing around the carotid artery could lead to serious bleeding. They said we could go to Illinois, but if he has any of these symptoms, he might have to go to emergency and we should to return to Oregon as soon as possible. They said he would probably feel more pain now, if they hadn't removed so many nerves during his operations. To be safe, Dr. Chui gave Curt a prescription for more oxcodone. The "good news" is that they think there is more than a 50% chance they can shrink the tumor with strong doses of chemotherapy. However, they cannot get rid of the tumor completely. They want to get started as soon as we return from Illinois (he will start on Friday, May 22). They will use 2 drugs (Cisplatin and Taxotere) one day every 3 weeks for a total of 6 treatments (depending on how things go). After the first treatment through a vein in his arm, he will have a port inserted in his chest for further treatments and blood draws. The veins in the arms are destroyed after a treatment. He will take a steroid pill the day before and have a Neupogen shot (against infection) 24-48 hours after the treatment. We will only have to go to Portland the day of the treatment (when it is early in the morning, we will probably stay at Angie's the night before). They are going to see if Curt can get the shot the day after in Corvallis. He will gradually feel worse for 4 to 10 days after the treatment and then gradually feel better. There are lots of possible side effects he could have, but everyone is different. Because Curt is in good shape, there might not be as many side effects. He can be as active as he feels like. After a couple treatments, they will do another MRI to see if the tumor is shrinking. They think he will have fast relief from the headache pain he is having now after the first treatment. They would like for us to take a class there about chemotherapy, before he starts but there is not enough time. We spent quite a bit of time with a nurse(?) who explained some things, gave us some literature, and showed us where he will have treatments (on the 7th floor of the building by the river with good views looking south and looking at Mt. Hood). Another good thing today, was that he weighed about 157 lbs.! Curt also cancelled his surgery on his eye on June 1 today.
I hope I remembered everything (Curt helps me). We had a lot thrown at us today!

Change in Plans

Curt is probably going to postpone the eye surgery scheduled for June 1. For the past week he has been taking one Extra Strength Excedrin about every 6 hours for headache pain above the eye and occasionally in his ear. The pain occurs regularly even when he reduces his reading or watching TV, and includes getting up at night. He is still playing tennis and continuing other activities. His weight is about the same, but he feels he is getting a little weaker. He e-mailed Dr. Gross, who contacted Dr. Chui about starting chemotherapy after we return from Illinois (May 5-20). Curt has an appointment with Dr. Chui this Thursday at 11 AM at OHSU.

Dr. Dailey, MRI & Dr. Gross

Because his eye has been bothering him the past few weeks, Curt had an appointment with Dr. Roger Dailey at the Casey Eye Institute at OHSU this morning at 8 AM. We spent the night before at the Bakers in Lake Oswego. Another doctor (possibly a Resident Doctor) really checked out Curt's eyes (he even measured how much tears they produced). After that Dr. Dailey came in. He seemed very competent - mentioning articles he had written and read about concerning similar eye problems. He recommended more surgery to put in another heavier gold weight in a different position in the eye lid (I thought his latest weight was not in the right position and caused some of his problems), take a tuck on the side of the eye and anchor it with alloderm (which is holding his jaw in place now), put some enduragen (sp.?) under the eye, and tuck up his cheek some more. The surgery right now is scheduled for June 1. Dr. Dailey suggested some other eye drops and a spray too. One reason Curt's eye hurts more after reading, watching TV, etc., is that it doesn't blink when doing these. The eye does not bother him when he plays tennis.
After Dr. Dailey, we went from the Eye Institute through a maze in the basement of the main hospital to get to his MRI. That was delayed because of an emergency that came in. They did give us each $5 gift certificates to use in the cafeteria though. By the time we saw Dr. Gross, it was 2 hours late. Curt is still at 154 lbs., which is a couple pounds less than the last time. When Curt mentioned some pain above his eye and a little inside his left ear at times, Dr. Gross said he wanted to look at the MRI. He came back and said there was definitely a change that did not look good. With Curt's other symptoms of some pain, weight loss, and less energy, he thinks it is the cancer is slowly growing (he won't say for sure though and says he has been wrong before with other people). He said Curt really needs the calories (i.e. Boost, Ensure, etc.) and could go ahead with the eye surgery if he is not showing more symptoms (more pain, weight loss and lack of energy). We should go ahead with our 2 week trip to Illinois in May and keep making plans for now. We should e-mail him after our return to tell him how things are going. If things are worse, he should consider chemotherapy and postpone the surgery.