Red Devil and allies began their second offensive against the evil Ewing’s Sarcoma who has taken over Mario’s Leg-ingrad. Mario is back at Piedmont Hospital Hilton, the attack’s command and control center, for the next four days or so.
Before the attack commenced Lord, Nurse and Butler had an office visit with Mario’s oncologist. Here is what they learned, mostly good news but it is early in what could be a long war..
· Question 1: Around day 11 of the first chemo treatment, Mario’s white blood cells dropped horribly and he had a high fever. How can this be avoided in this second chemo?
Answer: Mario will receive a white cell booster shot earlier than was given last time and this should avoid a reoccurrence. Here is a link to the drug.
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· Question 2: Mario’s pain has lessened in his leg/foot. Is this a positive indication that the tumor is responding to the chemotherapy?
Answer: Less pain is a good sign. It probably is a positive indication that the chemotherapy is shrinking the tumor. An examination of the area disclosed tenderness and less of a hard mass. This suggests that Red Devil and allies are killing many of Ewing's Sarcoma cells/soldiers.
· Question 3: Would physical therapy now, help me recover my motor skills?
Answer: Probably it is too early for physical therapy. Hopefully the shrinking of the tumor will help to improve lost motor skills. Physical therapy now will probably do little or nothing. Best to walk and keep active. This should be good for now.
· Question 4: Mario has a work commitment that has become a personal goal around Chemo treatment #4. Given this, which are our best option(s) in changing chemo treatments dates to accommodate this?
Answer: It is always best to keep the treatments on schedule, i.e. 21 days apart. They certainly can’t be done earlier. If this commitment is important, the best option is to delay the start of treatment number 4 by two weeks to accommodate your schedule. The health risk of doing this is probably very low.
· Question 5: When and how will we assess if the chemotherapy is working, and if so, how well? Will we revisit the liver lesions then also?
Answer: It makes no sense to continue with chemotherapy if it is not working. Before Chemo treatment #3 we will run another PET scan. This should tell us if the tumor has shrunk and perhaps also eradicated the liver lesions. If working, we will continue with chemotherapy for at least a total of 6 to 8 sessions.
· Is radiation or perhaps surgery is the best next step:? When do you think Mario would need to make this decision?
Answer: The chemotherapy has to do its job first. If radiation or surgery is introduced into the treatment, this likely will not occur before June since around this time we will be at treatment number 6. There is time to consider options and get more information on the results of the chemotherapy. The results acheived will direct what are the next best steps.
Thanks for all the information about Mario's chemo, Mr. Fog. He's a real hero, going through all this in his battle vs. the cancer.
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