Mike and I saw the oncologist last night. Mike will start a new regime of chemo this week or next. The drug is taxotere, one form of a drug originally manufactured from yew trees. The side effects are bad, as with all chemo. This time he might lose MORE of his hair and have more problems with fatigue and low blood counts...probably not as much diarrhea/nausea. The plan is to have weekly infusions for three weeks, off one for 9 treatments and then a PET scan again. Right now the pain in his back is being controlled with a longer-lasting pain med which he takes twice a day and then shorter acting one if needed. If the pain gets worse, he can have radiation for pain control.
The lymph nodes that necessitated the most recent chemo are OK; the bone is worse. The goal of the chemo is to keep the cancer from spreading to organs. The bone cancer is not affected by the chemo. If the organs remain cancer free, then, generally, the bone metastasis can be managed with radiation for pain control and, possibly, a medication that helps keep the bones from becoming too weakened.
Mike is determined to keep on keeping on with pretty much the same schedule he has had. Both of us wish we didn't need to do this all again....GLO
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