"it's not over ’til the fat lady sings"....I was still getting information together for Israel yesterday, but had a sudden panic attack about doing chemo before such a long trip with the possibility of it weakening me AND my immune system (possibly even making me less viable for the treatment).
I had asked my doctor 3 days before to please call me regarding it. She called me at 11 am as I was dressing to head out in one hour for the Chemo. After I told her what I was thinking ...she concurred and cancelled Chemo (a stay of execution..lol) at the 11th hour. Two hours later ~~out of the blue~~ I got a call from a lady regarding a LU-177 study I had sent contact info a while back.
I may have a second option HERE IN THE U.S. which would be less stressful (also less exciting)....and LOTS less expensive. I had a choice of two cities...Houston or Omaha...I told her which ever will get me in sooner...but that I prefer Omaha. I might still get a reprieve from the South Florida H E A T....
*I'm still moving forward with Israel (they are supposed to have a doctor's meeting today to discuss whether to invite me or not for treatment)
so I have a back up.
gJohn
p.s. "a sign?" ~~I told the woman who called from intake from the trial that she was lucky to have caught me...that I was scheduled for Chemo that day, but at the last minute had cancelled it. She said "you just gave me goosebumps". followed by "If you had done the chemo you would have been disqualified for the trial". It's hard not to look at this as a "sign"
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greatjohn
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Great news John! Thanks for sharing, we look forward to reading more about your ongoing Saga... or considering your changes of fortune does it make your journey an Odyssey? Either way, we wish you the best!
And I personally believe the word "odyssey" is a fitting name for your journey:
"In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus' journey represents life, the ups and downs of it. Hard work and perseverance through the hard times brought him to his desired place, his home in Ithaka. ... The sea is unpredictable, as is life. As Odysseus sailed, the sea brought him many things to face and get past."
If you are thinking about going to the Omaha area, you might get lots of related helpful information from browsing/exploring all the links on the website of where Dr. Luke Nordquist practices there.
I had coincidentally been checking him out because someone on here had mentioned how Excellent he is so am familiar with the site at a little bit about Omaha from that.
Nice! The doctor at the Omaha clinic chimed in on one of my posts here about a year ago. Seemed like a very nice solid guy. Best wishes to you in your trial!
Great news ! Yesterday I left my doctor's appointment . Shouldn't have asked what I wished for . I changed doctors at The James Cancer Hospital in Columbus , Ohio . To get a change to something other than Zytiga . Not failing it . Just a alternative . He came in after me waiting in the small room by myself for two hours . Just chatted then " I'm stopping Zytiga and prednisone . " Now here is some literature on chemotherapy " . My head showed no . " But I'm a chemotherapy doctor " . Good for you but no . " Ive been doing this for 20 years " Good for you I've been doing this for 15 years and no reason to give up now . It was like getting slug by Tyson . Pretty upsetting . So I have plenty of medicine so its back to the VA oncologist until I can get an appointment with a real prostate cancer specialist . Never thought about the statement " don't wish for what you asked for , might just come true " Sorry great john didn't want to interrupt your good news but this is the first story I read today after a sleepless night . Now where did I put that Casodex ?
I have often told people that lots of choices is not always a good thing. A clear route would be most desirable for us all. I am finding that that is not the case for most of us anymore who are in advanced prostate cancer. There are options and it’s almost like a crapshoot. I wish you the best! And I am hoping I make the right decision between doing a study/trial and just going overseas and getting the treatment I’m getting back on with my life.gJohn
greatjohn wrote >>> " ...And I am hoping I make the right decision between doing a study/trial and just going overseas and getting the treatment I’m getting back on with my life... "
Soon to be 6 years since my Dr. came into the waiting room I was in with wife just moments before being wheeled into the Operating Room for my Cryo. He and wife hugged then "OUT OF THE BLUE" he proposed a CHANGE OF PROCEDURE with my paraphrasing >>>
"You're next into the O.R. (after waiting the obligatory hours since arriving at the hospital) AND WE CAN proceed as planed OR you can wait for me to finish the other men here first then I will ONLY ABLATE THE GLEASON 10 RIGHT HALF OF YOUR PROSTATE and we'll wait 7 months before you return to then ablate the remaining GL6 spots in the left half AND I'll inject my own 3 drug cocktail of drugs into the right half as an "IMMUNOTHERAPY PROCEDURE and 1 month later YOU WILL START TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMNT INJECTIONS. THIS PROCEDURE hasn't been done before so you'll be THE FIRST to see if it works."
"There was no sign," I do not believe in "All things happen for a reason" or the "IT was meant to be" and not sure if my decision to go ahead after thinking about it for 10 seconds was the best way to proceed BUT ONE THING FOR SURE, starting my treatment with castration and agreeing with an EXPERIMENTAL treatment, has so far allowed a decent Quality of Life. Only time will tell if it stays that way and I have no regrets even if it worsens.
NOW IT'S out on my bicycle for 20 miles of riding to fetch groceries and home improvement stuff I need.
it does seem like two very different destinations. However I am putting the cart in front of the mule. I have not been accepted either place. I am awaiting word from Israel on Sunday and from Omaha....soon, as well. The "question" of which may be answered for me~~very soon. Omaha is to me right now a wonderful sounding adventure...it'a cold/cooler than South Florida...and I would be going there planning to actually "move there" for quite a few months to make it "even more of an adventure". My experiences with. people in the mid-west...is that I love them. Coming from Miami/Ft. Lauderdale for the past 43 years(which is like "little N.Y. City"/West Havana/Little Haiti......"coming to America" is always a cultural shock back to my roots. Our road trip two years ago up to South Dakota...through all of these states made me realize what an amazing country this still is.
Just saw this and hope you get good news this weekend or early next week. I guess if one says yes and the other no that will make the decision very easy. Quite a difference in destinations, I will be watching for picks of cuisine from wherever you land.
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