Hello Everyone:
We hope that this update finds you all surrounded by the colours of spring and that your gardens are a bit more prepared to tackle the summer. No doubt, there have been a few aching muscles as a result of your spring cleanups but what a great start to just getting outdoors after a long hibernation.
By the time I realized that my next update was due, I was having to prepare for the last chemo session of the cycle. Chemo session #2 for Gary and I was the start of a new reality without having Marie and Rick from Vegas with us during the treatments and afterwards for dinner at the local noodle house. Rick has been in regular contact and as of this morning, the latest news on Marie is that she is surrounded by her family and is being very well cared for.
During round 2 in the chemo suite, we spent our time with Martha Jansen (our tennis lady) and Leah – a new and very interesting lady, whose normal treatment day is Thursday. You will recall that Martha is an 8 year survivor and Leah, it turns out, is a 6 year survivor so it was quite impressive for me to be flanked by these special ladies. In both cases, they had each had surgery and at the time, they were told that their lymph nodes had been impacted. They were monitored over the years and their first recurrences have now surfaced so they are both in for what we all refer to as a “tune-up”. We learnt from Leah that both she and her sister were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer within months of each other. They both had their surgeries at UCLA and Leah had her post-surgical treatment with Dr. I. Her sister chose instead to return to Kansas, where she lived, to have her treatment and unfortunately, within six months, her sister had passed away. Leah felt that her sister was given the standard templated treatment available at the time whereas she was extremely fortunate to have been referred to Dr. I whose treatment even back then was viewed as leading edge. Leah left us saying that she wished that she could have her treatments every Tuesday as the time had just flown by. With us, of course, to round out our discussions and balance things off were Gary and John Jansen.
Other than a few days of fatigue and having to manage the usual early signs of some of the side effects, we felt that session #2 had been kind to us. While I had overlooked mentioning in my last update, Dr. I had reaffirmed that my tumour marker #s continue to reduce and that he was very pleased with my progress. We had the Memorial Day long weekend ahead of us and it seemed that a large number of the LA population head out of town for the long weekend. It was also evident by all the supermarket sales that those who remained in town spent a large part of the weekend firing up their bbq’s and socialising. Gary and I walked past a few brunch/lunch parties when we were out for our walks which lent a nice party atmosphere for the long weekend. It was also good to see that the locals were not spending the majority of their lives working or stuck in traffic jams.
On the morning of chemo #3, I decided to make a batch of Gary’s favourite oatmeal cookies. This was precipitated when Gary shared his cookies with John Jansen who told us that oatmeal was his favourite cookie. Well, that meant that I was committed to a bit of baking. We had also noticed that, unlike the winter months when the Reception area at Dr. I’s was overflowing with cakes, cookies and various baked goods, since the weather improved, the only items to tempt anyone remained the candies and chocolates in their pretty jars. I felt that it was time for me to make our contribution since Gary had availed himself of many of the calories over the winter months.
When we arrived at the office, I had never seen it as busy as it was – having to accommodate a good number of the Memorial Day Monday patients. All the spare chairs were in use as were all the private rooms and those of us who had minimal issues to contend with did not even get to see Dr. I that day. Lisa, the Receptionist, was ecstatic to receive our baked goods contribution especially as it remained the only fresh bit of temptation for the afternoon.
Soon after we had checked in, David Roy came bursting into the office, dragging his usual overstuffed duffle bag with him. We teased him about it but I was aware that it contained his special pillow, his laptop and other bits and pieces which he needed as he generally works through the majority of his chemo session. David was a bit flustered as he had to stop quickly to remove a mustard stain from his shirt so he was a few minutes late. He then confessed to having had a hot dog for lunch since his wife, Nancy, was out of town for the week. Of course, I gave David my most disapproving look and almost choked as I uttered the word: “Nitrites!!”. Gary came to his rescue by telling David that it was okay to have a hot dog ‘every now and again’. I told David to email me the next time and I would make him a sandwich, which is what I usually do for ourselves. Actually, David is doing as well as I am with all his results and has been managing his side effects very well, too so the odd treat of a hot dog becomes difficult to deny.
I managed to secure a chair in the chemo suite next to a new patient, Ray. Ray had just started his chemo after having had surgery. His worst side effect is nausea and while the anti-nausea prescription drug helped, he found that the side effects from the latter, such as constipation, proved far worse than the nausea itself. Ray is a retired mechanical engineer from the aerospace industry and in typical engineer-form, he made notes as I told him to try ginger capsules, how to make some fresh ginger tea, where to find some really good ginger chews and also to try some fennel tea for his nausea. We were then joined for a short time by David, the pastor and his wife, Mary, who are usually Monday patients. David and Mary fly in and out for his treatment from San Francisco. We had met David and Mary once before although I did not know their names at the time. For convenience, they had originally decided that David would have his treatment locally even though Mary’s sister, is a gastro specialist in LA and had recommended Dr. I. However, a few months ago, they found out that David’s cancer had spread and his oncologist was not planning to make any changes to his treatment. At that point, they decided that they needed to make the switch to Dr. I. They usually arrive mid-morning and finish their treatment an hour or so into mine, giving them enough time to get to the airport to head home at a reasonable time.
David Roy came out to have a chat. He had heard that Dr. I was meeting with a pancreatic cancer researcher, who was hoping that Dr. I would be able to assign 15 candidates for a clinical trial. Not sure how this would all work as these patients would have to cease being treated by Dr. I during the trials. David has been actively involved with a number of researchers/research companies who are seeking a cure for pancreatic cancer. You will recall that one of David’s largest clients is a LA philanthropist who, because of David’s diagnosis, wishes to make a large donation towards finding a cure. This resulted in David and Dr. I organizing a symposium over the winter to bring the top pancreatic cancer researchers together and to map out an action plan to avoid duplication of efforts and to encourage a greater level of openness and collaboration. David told me that he had spent up to 4 hours with the CEO and chief researcher of a local company who have been approaching a cure for cancer in general by using a modified form of the smallpox virus. David told me that this company had conducted two clinical trials, the most recent of which was designed to determine the optimal strength (dosage) of the modified virus to be admnistered. All participants in this trial had Scans taken before and after the trials with various types of cancer incuding pancreatic. They shared with David on a confidential basis the most significant outcome from this clinical trial – the fact that many of the patients’ tumours had disappeared as a result of this protocol. Legally, these results can not be used by the company in any way as the objective of this set of trials was to determine the optimal dosage to be administered. The one nagging question I had which David could not answer was how do we control the “life” of the modified virus. I used the examples of various animals/insects/reptiles/fish that are brought in to curb the negative impact of a “pest” only to find that in subsequent years, the environment has to deal with a different set of problems resulting from the original solution.
David told me that he had spoken to cousin Pat, who was having a few of his researchers meet with the company. I told David that I had earlier been in touch with cousin Pat regarding a company which had already conducted two sets of clinical trials for pancreatic cancer using a form of gene therapy. This process is closely aligned with cousin Pat’s present initiatives around genomic sequencing, the ultimate objective of which would result in a more tailored and targeted treatment for each patient.
There is clearly a much increased level of research initiatives taking place on the pancreatic cancer front which is truly encouraging. Gary and I are flying to Toronto next week for a short visit. I am looking forward to an office retirement party with all my colleagues to celebrate my 37 years with the company. That, in itself, proved to be a very rewarding and interesting journey, made all the more memorable as a result of many very special relationships forged over the years.
While many of you are continuing this new journey with me, and for this Gary and I are ever grateful, we have been joined by an increasing number of family and friends, and this to me completes the never ending circle of love and friendship for which we are truly blessed.
We thank many of you who take the time out of your busy schedules to drop us a note. Not only are they amazingly supportive but they allow us to have a brief respite from our smaller and more focused “world”.
May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.
Thank you all for being there.
Maureen and Gary