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The CT scan results were hard to hear. The primary tumor in the Pancreas has only decreased slightly in size, and as Dr. Wainberg put it, "The chemo regiment didn't do the job needed to make surgery an option". The CT scan also showed two new sites in the liver that look concerning. They are too small to confirm as cancer, however, it looks like they are. These areas are not causing any liver issues at this point, but they completely change the goal of our treatment.
The plan now is to start a different Chemo of two new drug's and do another CT scan after a few cycles. Dr. Wainberg was very honest in saying that the very aggressive chemo that George has been taking is not beneficial to continue, and we need to see if the tumor will respond to a different regiment.  It will start on July 11 and be each week for two weeks and then one week off.
Dr. Wainberg is also going to look into the option of a Clinical Trial.  The goal is to decrease the size of the primary tumor, as well as, slow down or prevent, any further spreading.
Please pray that the new chemo drug will be effective and that we are on the right track.  Also, that we will be able to be a part of any Clinical Trial's that would be of benefit.  Thank you.
~Donna

Waiting for Results

Just wanted to give a quick update on today's plans. We meet with Dr. Wainberg in the early afternoon down at UCLA to get the CT scan results. My goal is to send out a Tweet when we're done, and have any news to share. So if you're following me on Twitter you will hear then or check the blog later today for a more complete update.
We appreciate all the Prayer's and support during this last week, as the wait has not been easy.

~Donna

Good Counts!

Today we had our Chemo appointment a bit later then usual, I guess we're on summer mode. I brought the Laptop with us, so I'm posting now as George is receiving his first of three chemo meds.

The good news to report is that the Neulasta injection really helped after the last cycle. George's Labs came back looking very good!  His ANC was 4.1, this means that the Neulasta helped his bone marrow produce healthy white blood cells that fight infection. We also closely watch his Liver Enzymes which help us know if the Stent is still functioning. All his Enzyme levels, including Bilirubin, are well within the normal range and looking good. The news of the good Lab results is very encouraging to us today; now we just need to wait for the CT results.

CT Scan Friday

I know the delay for a CT seems like a long time to wait, but we have been making good use of this time. The goal this past week was "Family Time" and "Eating Well", although the weight is just not coming back.
The CT scan is scheduled for Friday, late afternoon, around 4:15. Due to it being late in the day, we are still scheduled to have cycle # 5 of Chemo this Monday. We already know that Dr. Wainberg is not available on Monday to review the CT result with us, however we're hopeful that we will not have to wait until June 27th (our next appt with Dr. Wainberg), to get the results.
Please keep George in your prayers during this test. It's our prayer that the results will show the tumor is responding to the chemo and decreasing in size and position.

~Donna

Frustrating News

We received word yesterday afternoon that UCLA was having an issue in getting the CT scan approved. After many phone calls, it was apparent that the original person that sent us our approval letter from Anthem Blue Cross was incorrect in stating all treatment was covered. She omitted the fact that we would need to seek more approvals for imaging such as CT scans. The same information was incorrectly given to the UCLA staff that works on these issues, as they were not told of the procedure that needed to be followed. The result is a delay in getting the scan. Already today we have had many phone calls back and forth to get the issue resolved. It's very frustrating that I have to spend time dealing with issues such as this, but apparently Anthem feels our time is better spent this way.
We are hoping it is all resolved soon and that the scan will be re-scheduled in a timely manor. We will keep you posted.
~Donna

New Drug

Cycle # 4 has gone well. George was given a new drug for the nausea and it really seems to have worked. It is call "Emend" and it's given for only three days. The first day, he didn't feel it made any change as he still needed to get an extra does of Zofran the day of chemo. However, the second day he felt pretty good and was able to eat. His major symptom the second and third day was overwhelming fatigue. He was even able to gain a few pounds this last week, so that was great. He has been laying low and trying to rest as much as he can. We had a quick visit from Donna's uncle Bill who is in town from North Carolina. It was a good visit, and we're glad it worked out as he may not be out again for awhile.
Today we will return to UCLA to get the injection of Neulasta. It is a longer acting form of Neupogen and will help George's bone marrow produce more Neutrophils. Our goal to keep his counts up, and prevent any infections.

George is scheduled to have his follow-up CT scan on Tuesday. The scan will show us what progress has been made on the tumor after 4 rounds of Chemo. We don't know when we will get the results of the scan, but were hoping by the end of the week, if not sooner.

The kids will be out of school for summer break by the end of the week (Hanna already ended on May, 26) and, we are hoping that George has a good "off chemo" period, and we can spend some good family time together.

I'll post again after the scan.

~Donna

Cycle # 4

First thing Thursday morning we will head down to UCLA for Cycle # 4. It has been nice to have this extra week for George to regain a little strength. His eating has been a bit better this past week, however the weight gain just didn't happen. He didn't loose any weight, so we are happy with that; it's all about finding the positive and moving forward.
The only change in the plan is that this coming Monday we will go back into the infusion center to get an injection that will help keep his White Blood Cell count up into it's healthy range. If all goes well we go back the following day, Tuesday, for the first CT scan post the start of Chemo.
I'll Tweet after we get his blood counts back and start the chemo., Thursday.

~Donna