The great news is that Rachel found out she does not have my BRCA2 gene mutation which can be a cancer cause and mostly likely the cause of my pancreatic cancer. In women, the cancer tends to show itself in breast and ovarian cancer and the genetic test is generally covered by insurance. The test for men related to pancreatic cancer is rarer and not covered by insurance. I have been cryptic about the news that I was tested for and have this gene because we didn't want it in print that Rachel might have it and then be refused insurance or have it used against her in some other way. (Actually, I had originally posted it in a blog and then edited it out so a few of you may have actually seen it.) Being an Ashkenazi Jew and having a lot of cancer on my mother's side of the family precipitated my genentic test for the BRCA2. The current Mighty Mouse treatment is directly related to those with the BRCA2 mutation.
Today we took a cab to Jefferson because of the cold. They had an easier time getting blood for the lab tests this time. They offered me a patch I could wear for a few hours or so before coming in to numb my Port Elkan for the needle but since it's just an unpleasant stick for a few seconds, I didn't feel the need for more medical procedures.
As usual, we had good conversations with Littman and Eleanor. I had gained at least a couple of pounds and they seemed to be amused by the slight fatness of my cheeks. I told them that with what I had been eating the past week or two that I should have looked like Bill Cosby's Fat Albert. My cancer marker dropped a little more to 82, always a good sign.
Littman said she has three patients now who have taken Mighty Mouse (Mutamycin) and all three have had good results with cancer cells being killed off. If I come through like the others, she's about ready to put this in a scientific report. Overall, she feels I am doing quite well and not close to becoming a negative statistic in the near future. We spoke about alternative treatments (macrobiotic diets are not for me), a possible trial coming up early next year that may be suitable for me, and how she keeps up to date on other research hospitals like Penn and Hopkins. (Littman also mentioned that she was aware of a bad patient experience at Hopkins.)
Katie, one of our favorite among many very good nurses, administered the chemo and related drugs, all of which went pretty fast as I didn't even need to be hydrated. Also, my white cell count was high enough to preclude the need for the next day shot. I did get a red blood cell shot from Katie.
My weight, which was around 150 before I got sick, has fallen as low as 115 at Jefferson and that's fully dressed. Today I was up to 129, still quite light but closer to human scale. For fun I weighed myself carrying both our back packs and winter jackets and was up to 145, a thrilling number for me to see.
I felt fine when we left Jeff, so we did a lot of errands, mostly for food, duirng our walk home. In the 2 1/2 hours from leaving Jeff, including time at home, I ate a Big Mac, an order of onion rings, 4 barbecue chicken wings, 2 Chinese barbecue spare ribs, pork fried rice, 1/2 an order of Lychee duck, and white rice. I don't expect to eat a big dinner as I'm actually not feeling too hungry and am a little tired.
The Inquirer's headline today was Kim Jong Il is Dead. I might have written "Kim Jong Il is Beyond Ill."
Have a good night.
Elkan - Monday night
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