Tues. 2/14

Greetings friends!  My endoscopic ultrasound last wednesday was like most endoscopies - a brief nap at the end of a long fast.  Despite the bright spot on the PET scan, there was nothing found on the ultrasound or biopsy, so suddenly I was down to 3 tumors.  This morning I had a Gamma Knife treatment to address a small, 14 mm tumor in my right frontal lobe. If you ever need one, Dr Steven Bader is your man - competent, caring and funny.  The procedure focuses 192 columated beams of cobalt-generared gamma rays on an area as small as 4 mm. (No one has yet been able to tell me where the smoke goes.) Since the energy is divided by 192, the tissues not in the focus area receive very littlle radiation.  It is painless and very quick, except for the part where they screw the indexing box to your skull.  That stings a bit. So now I'm down to 2 tumors.

I plan to start Interlukin 2 (IL2) next monday the 20th. It will entail being in the hospital 5 days at a time with IV treatments 3 times a day, 2 weeks at home to recover and then a second round.  If the melanoma responds, by getting smaller or at least not growing, I will get a total 6 treatments  The side effects include the usual nausea and fatigue, but also blood pressure problems and arrhythmias.  If I don't get a response, there are numerous other treatments - some FDA-approved, most experimental.  I have complete confidence in my oncologist, Dr. John Smith,  We are fortunate to have trmendous melanoma expertise in Portland, and the new Providence Cancer center is quite pleasant. That's all for now, I have pulmonary function testing, apt. w/ Dr. Bader and , PT in the morning.  My spirits are good and my family is here.  My profound thanks to those who have provided meals and those who are taking care of my patients in my absence.  Kerry