We're planning to get several opinions on the best treatment options for Mer, but we decided to start by seeing Dr. John Ward. He was Nancy's favorite doctor when she was ill. (We also heard he treated President Hinckley, so we figure he must be good.) Our first visit with him was on Thursday, October 20.Dr. Ward is a really nice man, and he was very kind. He didn't deliver much good news, however. We were told the diagnosis had been confirmed by a pathologist at Huntsman. The cancer is at "stage 4", and there is no cure and there are no treatment options. (His liver has too many lesions to do surgery, and chemo and radiation are not effective on this type of cancer.)
He also told us this is generally a slow-growing cancer. He had one patient who lived with it for 15 years and then died of something else. (We're planning on breaking this record!) However, another patient had an aggressive form of the disease and only lived for one year. Rosie, the PA, told us most patients can plan on living for 6-8 years. We will be so grateful if Merlynn has the slow-growing kind.
The next step, according to Dr. Ward, is to find out how fast the tumors are growing. They drew some blood and ordered a couple of other tests, mostly to get a baseline, as I recall. Mer will have another CAT scan in three months to see if the tumors have grown and by how much.
The only treatment available is a shot the patient can take every 3-4 weeks called sandostatin which will help reduce the side-effects (flushing and diarrhea) which are common with this type of cancer. (Merlynn has yet to experience any symptoms.) Some people who have taken the drug have shown signs that the drug slows the growth of the tumors.
We're interested to know if other doctors share the same opinion. We have an appointment with a Dr. Nibley, a physician recommended by our primary care doctor, on November 3.
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