Still waiting for next treatment options

Not a lot has happened since my last post, however, there is a little news so I thought I'd update all of you. Jason was able to come to Houston for my appointment with the clinical trial doctor. He came on the weekend and we were able to get some things done around Houston. Most importantly, I was able to visit my favorite carnitas supplier, El Tiempo Cantina. Monday morning we got up early and I went straight to the diagnostics lab to get my blood drawn. The last time we saw this clinical trial doctor I had eaten a ton of breakfast before the blood draw and she got concerned about the cholesterol count. Luckily, that visit was just a dry run and it didn't affect anything. This time I wanted to be careful so I got the blood drawn before eating anything, which was not easy to do without coffee. I didn't know for sure that I'd be able to do it without it resulting in assault charges, divorce, or worse. Somehow I made it. Once the blood was drawn, we went straight back home to have coffee and breakfast because my next appointment was several hours later. 

Once fed and hyped up on plenty of caffeine, I was able to feel human again and it was almost time to go to see the doctor. We went over, answered lots of questions, and learned that they didn't run a cholesterol panel on my blood. So, essentially, I put everyone (especially Jason) in a potentially dangerous situation for nothing. Oh well, I guess it was necessary just in case. When the doctor came in, we talked with her and she asked about the genetic analysis of the tumor tissue. We said that we were told that oncology would be requesting that analysis but we had no idea what the status was. She then said that she did not see any results for that analysis and that she'd like to send it off to a lab she uses called Tempus in Chicago. We agreed because an independent lab will probably do a more thorough and complete analysis than an internal lab. She also told us that she has something in mind, but they are still verifying paperwork/ approving contracts before they can enroll patients. She didn't go too far beyond that to explain any other details. We did discuss my anti-inflammatory diet and she was very interested in the entire idea of a low carbohydrate diet being anti-inflammatory. She admitted that because she is from Greece and since the Mediterranean Diet has been so successfully marketed as healthy, she is in favor of that diet, recommends the most healthy fats possible (although I don't know if her version of healthy fat would agree with the current research), and she did have some questions about why the dietary fat is important to the success of the method. I'll just keep answering those questions and hope that she learns more about it. Two very interesting points she made were: 1) she knew that anti-inflammatory diets were great for asthma and other inflammatory illnesses and 2) she said her brother had been put on an anti-inflammatory diet but she was irritated that he was told it was ok to eat whole wheat pasta. It was clear that she isn't clueless about that part of the diet, that all carbs are suspect and must be watched carefully in order to use food as medicine in this way. In addition to tumor analysis, she wanted some specialized blood testing, so she sent me back down for another blood draw immediately.

When we left her it was decided that since I have to be there around 2/20-2/25 anyway, that might be the perfect timing for another visit. We went back to Lubbock that evening. I'm still waiting for them to get me scheduled, but in the meantime she will be obtaining and sending a tissue sample to the lab she uses in Chicago, getting the contract settled for the trial she discussed, running the specialized blood tests, and talking more with Dr. No Naps about options and possibilities. 

Jason and I were able to get back to Lubbock in plenty of time to see Aidan's last basketball game of the season (although I guess he will have some kind of off season). I had missed so many over the last several weeks that I was really missing him and watching him play. So happy to have a couple of weeks at home with my boys and my parents. My aunt is visiting soon as well, so this break came at exactly the right time.