Hi everyone.
History - Mum had been told there was no more anybody could do for her. She has recurrence of colorectal liver mets after a resection. Her penultimate consultant had said that a CAT scan would tell us how much time she had left.
Last Friday - Mum is very ill indeed and getting weaker. She made it to the appointment with her consultant and I joined her and Dad. (I'd gone into overdrive researching the world on the net - thanks to that I know you guys exist and you've given me lots of practical information.) I went armed with my research to the consultant. Mum was so weak they took her into a room, along with registrar and couple of nurses. (Dad and I were in tears.)
It happened that another consultant (who is part of the multidisciplinary team along with the consultant who had told her there was nothing anyone could do.) came into the room. It was an unplanned meeting. We ended up not seeing the first consultant but spending time with this one.
We were stunned to hear that he believes she is not in terminal stages yet. He said even if she chose to do nothing further he thinks she has another 12 months left at least. But - and this the most important bit - he said that he could understand the previous doctor's concern re. infection setting in and hence no chemo availability) but he thinks she should batter the door down of the oncologist and demand chemo. This means he thinks she could benefit from chemo. We've found one person who thinks there is a possibility of helping Mum. I want to shout it from the hightest mountain...
He listened to all my research questions, and I threw the possibility of a second opinion at him, to which he said that it was a possible thing to do. I also mentioned the option of coming to Sloan Kettering, but told that perhaps money was part of Sloan's motivation with international patients, in not so many words.
I also questioned him about TroVax. He said he wasn't too familiar with it and also quite wary of opting for a trial medication when there are chemos out there that are already established at working.
(Although, that being said, i've been reading your posts on the side effect of neuropathy with Oxilaplatin. That is a worry, but we shall take it one step at a time.)
Anyhow, to summarise, he believes that we have to remain positive, he instilled so much confidence that we had a weight lifted from our shoulders. It mjust goes to show, if you search for, or persist or just accidentally come across the right person, it can mean the difference between a death sentence or a fight for life, and a more positive outlook altogether.
It did us all so much good, that the Sunday afterwards, Mum got up, got dressed and we all went out to lunch in a restaurant. That - is unheard of. For the most part she is bed ridden.
Having said that, she has had a terrible start to the week and seems to react very badly, (with violent vomiting) to every antibiotic under the sun. She is taking them for infection at the moment. But i'm hoping that once she stops she will feel a tad stronger again.
To summarise - we have been given something to hope for. We believe we now have more time in which to help Mum. Our next step is to batter down that oncologist's door and demand the chemo therapy that may help Mum.
With love to you all, you are all in my thoughts.
Mali.