Friday 24 June 2011

June 23

First meeting with Dr Robert Gryfe, Tanya came along to take notes and ask extra questions. Highly recomnd this, more of a team effort. I'm sure to the doctor this becomes routine but to us it's brand new and he does not know what we might already know.

We went in prepared with a list of questions and written history covering everthing from my diet, weight, sleep habits and health over the past 6 months, few weeks and this past week. Maybe it provided a bit too much information but at least he has it.

The first message from the doctor was that this type of cancer is very hard to detect. In the early stages it can only be detected with a colonoscopy, this is not recommended preventative care for men of my age.

The second good news is the type of chemo that he thinks I will be going on does not normally have strong side effects. The treatment is every two weeks for a few hrs. After a few cycles we will re-examine surgery options.

Next steps are for a colonoscopy scheduled for June 27 at 10am. Waiting to hear back on dates for catscan and some other tests.

More news to come but glad we are making progress on diagnosis so we can move to treatment.

1 comment:

Deanna said...

Stephen, what a great idea to start this blog to keep us in the loop on how your treatment progresses. Drazen and I look forward to checking back to hear good news coming out of the colonoscopy on Monday. We will be sending you positive vibes from Utah. Take care, Deanna