Catching Up

WWFD? Or, What Would Francis Do? Where the heck did that come from, you ask. Well, I gotta admit that this is from an old event, but corporate mail seems to take awhile...

Way back in September I attended a party that was in appreciation for the pivotal figures in our implementation of the computerized medical record. No, I was not a recipient, merely a participant, Any way, during the party I had a chance to talk with a group of the project's nursing reps, and they introduced me to the term "WWFD". Evidently it means "What Would Francis Do?" and it had become their standard approach to any problems that they faced. Needless to say I was 1)Humbled, 2)Honored, 3)Secretly proud, and 4)Irreverent.

The very next weekend my family and I were at the Castro Valley Street Fair and I stumbled across a stall that would create License Plate surrounds on the spot. Needless to say my irreverent side took over and just as a joke I had one created that had "KPHC" across the top and "WWFD" across the bottom.  Well, it turns out that this joke gift I mailed to the project is now posted on the wall of their clinical leader, and photos are floating all over the corporate intranet.  I guess it’s my 15 minutes…

So, on with the updates.  I had the Neck to Nuts CT a bit over three weeks ago.  All of the tumors are stable/shrinking—the ones in the right kidney are now classified as cysts—except for the lung tumors.  Evidently they are multiplying and growing.  The CT also showed a small pleural effusion (fluid pooling in the space between your lung and ribs) at the base of the left lung.  Needless to say my Onc was not happy--nor was I.

As a result of this finding I underwent a Thoracentesis (stick a needle through your chest, feed in a plastic tube, then suck out the fluid) 2 weeks ago.  The results were pretty normal, except for the presence of cancer cells.  On this tap they took out 175cc, not a whole lot.  Unfortunately, one week later I was very short of breath with exertion; so after a chest X-ray I was back in the Interventional Radiology lab where they took out 1700cc of fluid.  When she saw this, the only thing that Robin could say was “wow, ten times the last one”.  Thanks Robin.  Next Tuesday I am due back in IR to see how things are progressing.  As for how I feel, I haven’t felt this good in weeks.  As I used to tell my students, “Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, oxygen is good”!.

The weirdest part of the experience came when I saw the tube from my back plugged into the vacuum bottle.  It struck me that after about 20 years of assisting on procedures like this—and feeling sorry for the poor bastard that we were treating—now I was the poor bastard being treated.  Very strange feeling.

As a result of the CT scan result and the effusion a bunch of stuff has changed.  First, my chemo has been changed to Temsirolimus; this is similar to Sutent, but is a weekly intravenous infusion which I receive every Wednesday morning.  Also, my Onc has referred my to the Riverside facility that administers the Interferron and Interleukin 2 therapy—with luck we will hear from them next week when their specialist returns to the US.  Pending the results of this referral, and the response of my effusion, the nephrectomy has been put on hold.

Looking back over the last few weeks, I am pretty chagrined to realize that I had no idea what was going on with my lungs.  Like I said earlier, I feel better now than I have in weeks, but a part of me is certain that I should have caught this earlier.  You have no idea what it is like to feel anxious with every breath, weak with every movement, and confused all the time.  And to think that I chalked it up to the side effects from the chemo!  Ah well, live a little, learn a little.

The side effects from the Temsirolimus are pretty limited; most of the effects are zero tolerance for spicy/sour foods and oral sores.  The biggest problem is the nausea and vomiting that hits on the second day after the infusion…yes, that is right now, and the porcelain god has received his due as I type this.  Bloody annoying; and tastes like crap to boot.  With luck it will end tomorrow, and I can get back to eating and drinking.

Well, that is about enough for one night.  Time to go huddle the throne and pray for the morning.

Be well.