Today I had a couple scans that yielded mixed results.

Basically they are mostly positive. There was one spot that grew, some new growth that wasn’t there last time around, but mostly others either didn’t grow or shrunk. 

Dr. Mansfield wants to double the chemo medication dose and attempt to deal with the side effects. He thinks the cancer is changing and adapting to the drugs and we’ll get one more boast from the current stuff if we double the dose for now. 

Meanwhile, he wants to appeal for this other drug cocktail that’s been approved for Melanoma but not for the type of lung cancer I have, but he says it will work just as good and the cancer doesn’t “know it” yet. Also, he thinks I’ll tolerate those drugs better. 

The insurance company will reject his appeal a few times, but he thinks they’ll go for it after a round of ‘back-and-forth’ which he estimates will take a month or 2. He said he expects most of these genetic match drugs to “plateau” off after a while and loose their potency and that’s when you go with your plan B. 

I’m glad he has a plan B.

Please pray I can stand whatever side effects come with the increased dose, which starts tomorrow morning. I have also had a fracture in a vertebrae which has caused me tremendous pain in the past month. At least now we know what’s been causing it, but either way, I have to take it easier with lifting or any physical pressure because other “breaks” can happen just as easy even though the healed bones are stronger. There is still a systemic weakness in my bones wherever the cancer has eaten into previously.

After the meeting, I was a little down thinking, “How long will this go on? Is this my new norm, being sick pretty much all the time for years and years. Can I handle that? How hard will this be on my family?”

It’s easy to let thoughts come in that are discouraging… that focus on the hard parts without giving the high points any ground. 

I am making a point of focusing on and being thankful for the periods I do feel good and not get out ahead and too far into the future. And of course, you can’t forget about the God-Factor!

Thanks for your prayers and dedication to us during this difficult time. We are also moving tomorrow, so I hope to have the energy for that without doing too much.