Since my last post, we have continued with the radiation treatments and gleaned some additional information regarding the tumor on my spine, which seems to be the primary location where the cancer has taken up residence. My radiation will consist of a total of 10 treatments, 6 of which have been completed to date. The tumor was about 2" in size, and that added mass in my spinal area was exerting pressure on my spinal cord and the spinal nerve going to my right hip and leg. The result was some rather severe pain in my back, hip and leg areas. But the radiation quickly began to exact its toll on the tumor and the resulting pain has diminished quite a bit. That, coupled with an ever-present bottle of oxycodone, have allowed me to stay ahead of the pain most of the time. The final radiation treatment is next Monday, and by then we are hoping that the tumor area is largely resolved.
On Thursday of next week we begin a new round of trips to and from the Duke Cancer Center. We meet with Dr. Beaven to review the biopsy results and discuss possible options for clinical trial treatments in the coming weeks/months. Since Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma is such a rare type of cancer, the oncology community has not yet been able to develop a standard treatment protocol that yields a satisfactory level of resulting outcome (that is a nice way of saying the survival rate is not at all good). That is why it is important to be receiving treatment at one of the highly regarded cancer research hospitals, where they are deeply involved in, and aware of, all of the research being done worldwide. Hopefully Dr. Beaven will have been able to identify one or more options for our consideration.
Needless to say we are anxious to find out what lies ahead. And whatever that may be, we know that our Lord and Savior, Our Loving Heavenly Father, will be with us every step along the way. We ask for your continued prayers as our latest journey unfolds.
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