I met with the Oncologist today for a complete review of my progress, or in my case lack of progress. I did have a PET scan done on Monday and the results were not very good. I am showing an increase of tumor activity in both lobes of the liver. The scan also showed the cancer has spread to my adrenal gland. The doctor told me not to worry about that because it seems like a small amount and the treatment for an adrenal tumor is the same as what I am doing for the my liver. Also my tumor marker went up again to 149 and my platelets were only at 71. After some discussion we agreed that the current plan is not working very well. The doctor explained that the platelet problem is the immediate problem right now. If my platelets stay low, or go lower, I have an increased chance of internal bleeding, stroke or aneurysm. He looked back at my history and decided to bring back a drug that was easy on my platelets and showed some success on the tumors. He is putting me back on Erbitux. That's right, the drug that caused my face rash and finger infections. We are going to start at a lower dose than what we had used before. I will still get the rash and probably have some finger problems but we hope they won't be bad enough to cause us to stop the drug. Our goal is to attack the tumors in a slow and steady pace while giving my platelets a chance to rebound. I will not be taking the Xleoda oral chemo drug either, until my platelets increase.
As I was receiving nothing but bad news today, I was continually reminded that I am still in a much better place now than where I was in the beginning. I have to continue to trust in the Lord's plan for me and stay positive. Keep praying.
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