07/02/2015:

09:00: I arrive to the Tulane Cancer Center.  I check in, and sit and wait.

09:30: I am brought to the back for bloodwork.

10:45: It’s my turn to be seen by the doctor and she walks into the room.  My mother and my sister are both there, my sister was not a match to be the Stem Cell Transplant donor.  Dr. Safah is disappointed in the PET/CT results.  She said that the brentuximab is not doing it’s job, the cancer is showing a mixed response to the chemo.  Some is reacting to the chemo, some is not.  There are two spots of concern, one in the chest and one in the abdomen that are not showing any reactions to the chemo.  She said there is nothing else that she can give me to try to control and fight the cancer, and that she would be referring me to MD Anderson.  She needed to get the cancer under control before proceeding with the second stem cell transplant, but since she cannot get it under control, she can not move forward with the stem cell transplant because it would not yield the same results and be an answer since there is more disease, and it is not pushed into control.  She said that there is a trial/study drug going on at MD Anderson that is looking promising and she is hoping that they can use that drug which is known as nivolumab, can be used on me to see if that will suppress the cancer, and then possibly follow up with a stem cell transplant after that.  However, just as before when Dr. Veith referred me to Dr. Safah, Dr. Veith was no longer in the driver’s seat, now Dr. Safah is referring me to MD Anderson, MD Anderson will now take complete control of my health.  Just one step at a time, hopefully this time better results will come about.

PET/CT Scan Results:

11:45: We are done.  The office said they would follow up with MD Anderson with all of my information, test results, history, etc.  That’s it.  No more appointments scheduled with Tulane, MD Anderson is now in the driver’s seat.

12:30: We arrive at Bravo!  My wife just started working as a server here, so we request her.  If you are going there, feel free to request for her to be your server Diana (Dee).

1:45: We are done, and head home where I jump in my car and head to my office to start to work on a few things, and to start prepping things for remote work from Houston when I am traveling back and forth and getting treatments and such.

6:00: I head back home.

Just the end of another day.  Another step to be taken, but one day at a time and one step at a time is my way of looking at things.  Baby steps…