The chemo plan is in place

OK, so the meeting with the oncologist is in the book. Yes indeed, I have been scanned, poked, prodded, and inspected in all possible ways, and in the words of Arlo Gutherie, they have let no part of me untouched. The scan is to check for cancer in distant parts of my body, and to have something to compare pre and post chemo.

My last post contained a big mistake..... This round of chemo is not a  “last chance weapon deployment”. The Doc. Said that future chemo, if necessary, was possible during dialysis. It is good to know that there are options available down the road.

I have been deemed to be healthy enough to receive chemo..... I never realized that was in question, but in any event, I start chemo on Tues. I will have a 9 hr. day on Tues. the 18th, 3 hrs of infusion, and 6 hrs of flushing. This first day will be both Gemzar and Cisplatin. On Tues the 25th, I will be there about 5 hrs, and receive only Gemzar. The third week, is a week off..... woo hoo...... This sequence repeats 4 times.

There is no way to stage my cancer until after the kidneys are removed, thus no way to predict my survivability. Best case 89% chance to survive 5 years, worst case, 16% chance to make 5 years. It all depends on if the cancer escapes the kidneys, and where it may set up camp.

Anyway, my best chance is to have a good response to the chemo and then have the kidneys removed about 1 month later. If cancer shows up elsewhere, they will not want to remove my kidneys, but leave them in place as long as they continue to function.

I still plan to make my trip to Pa, but I really have no idea what to expect..... sick as a dog, or not too bad. Right now, I am thinking if I am not in the hospital, I will be on the plane.