Three Strikes You're OUT!

Hi everyone, hope you all have had a good week! Well it's been about a week since Dad had his first chemo treatment. He felt good the first few days, but felt like he got hit by a train after the "steroid high" wore off. Its normal for people going through chemo to feel crappy around the 3rd day after chemo, and boy does dad feel it! Other than being exhausted and feeling hungover, he has only felt nauseous once. Last night he also started to get a brain freeze...but instead of in his brain it is in his throat...make sense? He says its really painful and its like breathing in -50 degree air.

Today was a busy day of appointments, holy cow! Who would have thought 3 appointments would be so exhausting. We first met with Dr. Lucas who is the Radiation Oncologist we were referred to~his practice is part of Arizona Oncology (the same organization where Dad gets his chemo) and you would THINK the chemo doctors would be able to communicate clearly with the radiation doctors...but that is not the case for us unfortunately. Dr. Lucas was very nice, but he had not been given any of Dad's test's...only the written reports. He asked Dad a lot of questions (are you coughing up blood, having trouble breathing ect) and at the end said he doesn't think radiation is right...right now. WHAT?! We all had the same reaction because every doctor we have seen so far has told us Dad is getting radiation. He wrote dad a prescription for "miracle mouthwash" which will help dads throat freeze and sent us on our way.

Dad's big brother, Uncle John, flew in from Denver this morning so he got to spend the rest of the day with us. It is SO great having him here and was definitely the highlight of the day!!!

Our second appointment was with the Dr. Roberts office so Dad could get blood work and a B12 shot. Last week they told us if he needed ANYTHING we could call Roxanne (the nurse navigator we met last week) and she would answer our questions. They also said anytime he needs a B12 he can come in. Well Dad was feeling REALLY run down and so he called Monday and didn't hear back until Tuesday when they told him to come in today (Wednesday) to get blood work and the B12. Well they called Dad back, took his blood work and said "Alright see you in a few weeks!". Boy did Dad give them a piece of his mind, and honestly they deserved it. The communication and service we have experienced the last week is completely unacceptable and incredibly disappointing. It is really frustrating for someone who is going through this in general, but not have anyone on the same page is even more scary.

The third appointment was with Dr. Siever, the Pulmonologist. Dr. Siever wanted to do a follow up appointment to monitor the fluid in his left lung. He took an X-ray and he was so pleased with it! The fluid has really cleared up and the tumor has not grown which is awesome!!!! Dad will meet with him again in a month.

After the appointments today we decided we needed a second opinion, and not just a consult but a team of doctors who are motivated to work together and are passionate about their patients...hence the title of this post :). MD Anderson is another prestigious cancer treatment center and my Mom worked her magic today to get him an appointment ASAP. They have all of his tests and paperwork and he should be in to see the Executive Director the beginning of next week.

Dad is such a fighter and even though there has been a few obstacles this week, next week can only get better :) We are all looking forward to hearing what MD Anderson has to say, and of course we will keep you updated via the blog. Thank you so much for all of the prayers, calls, emails ect...they really do help!

Goofing off at Dr. Siever's

So tired

After dinner