Happy Anniversary!

Today is Friday. Chemo day. It is also our Wedding Anniversary. This day marks 27 years since Yoko and I tied the knot. Imagine that! I remember that day like it was yesterday. I will look forward to celebrating our 30th in just three more years.

As usual I have come to Florida Cancer Specialists for my long (5-6 hour) treatment (cisplatin and navelbine) versus the short treatment (navelbine alone), which only takes 2 hours. After my blood test, I met with Dr Lunin briefly for a status check. Here is the upshot:

After today, I have three treatments left -- one long and two shorts. For the first time Scott used the "R" word. He normally does not use the "R" word -- in fact he made a point a few months ago to say that he does not use the "R" word -- so I picked up on his use of the word right away. Looking at my status, I think Scott would tell you that I have tolerated the treatments remarkably well; the response has been been as good as could be expected and my cancer at this point is in "remission," meaning that there is no signs currently of active disease. This is where you would hope to get to at this point in treatment and I am grateful for getting there! Now the only question is how long I can remain "cancer free". Will it be one year? Or two? Or more? Only time will tell. Anyway, Happy Anniversary Yoko!

We talked about staying on schedule for the remaining treatments and the "flu-like" symptoms I get after the neupogen shots. The plan for next week is to wait until Tuesday to do a blood test. If I need the shot on Tuesday, I can get it. If not, we might skip the shots next week. Right now my WBC is good -- in fact on the high side -- so if the WBC does not drop too precipitously, I may be able to go a week without the shots. I can't get the Procrit shots until certain components of my red blood cell count falls below a certain level. I am on the cusp, but not there yet. Apparently, my insurance will not pay for the Procrit shot (which is VERY expensive) until I meet their criteria. (Another example of the insurance company running the show -- not the doctors!)

After I complete the current round, Scott is planning another PET/CAT scan and a brain scan. The plan is to do brain radiation as a preventative, since lesions in the brain are very common with lung cancer patients because of the blood/brain barrier. The hope would be that any cancer cells in the brain that have not been killed by the chemo are destroyed with the radiation. In the meantime, I am looking at what clinical trials are available. In particular, I am looking for preventative/ maintenance type therapies. I have been sending Scott the summary information of some of the trials going on that seemed a fit to me ...here is his response to one going on in Denmark:

To: Thomas Cappiello
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 10:21 AM
Subject: Re: NCT00442754,Dendric cells in lungcancer:- Dendritic Cells in Lung Cancer

no...............

a. Patients with inoperable locoregional or advanced NSCLC irrespective of histological subtype where chemotherapeutical treatment options are depleted. (not really you)

b. copenhagen....are you crazy????????? please stick to trials in locations such as hawaii, bahamas, bora bora, etc where your oncologist accompanying you wont have to wear a furry wool hat to stay warm.........

Yoko and I are going to Orlando today to celebrate our anniversary. Tonight we eat dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Mikado's (teppan yaki). Tomorrow morning we have a 9 AM tee time at Hawk's Landing. We'll stay in Orlando for lunch and drive home tomorrow night.

I must say, people are nice and it is very gratifying when they call just to say hello and see how I am doing. Eric Madsen does this regularly. Dennis Kainen called this morning, while I was in chemo, to say hello. He was going to drive up from Miami tomorrow, but I we are not going to be here. We'll try to get together with Tom Witt and Luther Liggett -- maybe in October.

I also got a call from Mark Anthony, a friend from Rotary who was just checking in with me. Brian Brunderman called at 11:30 this morning offering to bring me lunch. (I declined because Yoko prepares a bag lunch on long chemo days). We may get together for lunch next Friday (my last long day). It is nice to know that people care.