Port Placement and Chemo Schedule

It has been quite a week; we prayed that the doors at UCLA would open up their tight schedule to accomodate us and they did. This week we feel like we have made a great deal of  progress in moving toward getting treatment started. Not only did we get the appointment with Dr.Wainberg moved up, (it was yesterday instead of next week), but the beauty of our Surgeon and Oncologist Team having a great working relationship has really benefited us. Just as Dr. Wainberg said he would schedule the Port-A-Cath Placement, our Surgeon walked down the hall past our room. The two Doctors talked right then and there and within minutes they were conferencing with us about the instalation of the Port and Chemo schedule. Dr. Tomlinsons staff arranged for it to be done right away, and here we sit today, Friday, with the Port in place, and one more thing checked off the list.  George was in surgery today for about an hour.

Dr. Wainberg wants to do George's infusion on Mondays due to the amount and types of drugs he will be getting.  George will be given 3 different drugs.  Two will be given over a few hours in the infusion center at UCLA and the third will be infused over 48 hours via a pump that he will go home with. We will then return on the following Wednesday afternoon to have the pump disconnected and the line de-accessed. The chemo will be given every two weeks. This course will continue for 2-3 months and then a CT scan will be done to check the Tumor and see what response has been achieved.   Dr. Wainberg was very frank with us and said  cancer of the pancreas is a tough area of the body to treat and chemo doesn't always work.

Some have asked why we are waiting until April 11 to start. The chemo start date was set prior to knowing exactly what day the Port placement would be. When it was decided that Dr. Tomlinson could make room to do the Port today, the Infusion center was already arranged for the 11th, and due to the 48 hour infusion of the one drug, keeping the Monday/Wednesday schedule works best. This will give George time to adjust and heal from the placement of the Port and be ready on the the 11th.

George is feeling sore tonight in the upper right chest, but that is to be expected. It was a long day, and he did well.

We realize that many of you are out of state, but for those of you who have asked, and who live locally, our good friend Lori Raleigh is going to coordinate meals.  If you are interested in helping out, please email her at: 4raleighs@gmail.com  

Thank you!

~Donna