Here We Go Again!

by karenulijohn

Maybe I was being naive, but I never thought I would be posting to this blog ever again after my last post a year and a half ago.  But, I should never say “never!”  Recently, Harvey has been having back pain that was progressively getting worse and worse.  He consulted our Primary Care Physician who, after an X-Ray, concluded that his problem was arthritis, and he should just learn to live with it.  Fortunately, both Harvey and I knew in our bones that there was something terribly wrong.  He has continued to lose weight, his appetite is non-existent, his electrolytes are not balanced, particularly sodium and chloride, and he has absolutely no energy.

About three weeks ago, he had a follow up appointment with Dr. Suhag, his oncologist, who ordered an MRI of Harvey’s spine.  The results of that showed something that persuaded him to order a CT scan.  The scan revealed two thickened areas in Harvey’s liver plus swollen lymph nodes.  The Dr. was pretty sure it was cancer, but he needed to know whether it was a recurrence of melanoma or esophageal cancer.  Last week, Harvey had a liver biopsy, the results of which we heard today.  Esophageal cancer has found its way to his liver and lymph nodes.

We feel very lucky to have Dr. Suhag as Harvey’s oncologist.  He laid out the facts and possible treatments, outcome expectations and time lines.  He answered all of our questions and assured us that he would do everything necessary to take us through this challenge.   The treatment options are: 1) Chemotherapy by infusion, 2) Chemotherapy by mouth, 3) Targeted therapy based on genetic mutation, 4) Surgery which is not indicated at this time, 5) No treatment.  Because of Harvey’s previous experience of cancer treatments, he has a particular aversion to ports and pic lines and needles and infusion centers.  So, he has opted for Option 2, chemo by mouth.  While it is not as effective as the infusion method, the trade off is fewer side effects.  The goal is to shrink the tumors, relieve his pain, and allow him to have reasonably good quality of life.

In the meantime, the cells from the biopsy have been sent to Foundation I which is an organization that searches for the mutated genes, and studies why they are growing.  There is a 1 in 5 chance that Harvey’s cell mutation will match one that has already been identified, and a smart drug therapy has been discovered.  The results of this search will be returned sometime next week.  Targeted therapy is not a cure, but it has been shown to produce miraculous results and remissions.

Please keep Harvey in your thoughts and prayers.