Ready To Go

Well, I saw six doctors while at Stanford. I felt like a lab rat. After that, I posted my previous blog and then had some lunch. I got back to the clinic and met with the Chief of Oncology for head and neck cancer. He told me that my treatment plan was going to be perfect for my type of cancer and that the committee basically thought I was on the right path to success. He thought it was great that my treatments included the Cetuximab. I finally told him about me being selected to arm two of the clinical trial and was going to get the drug. I did not mention this to them before hand, just to get an idea about how they felt about receiving or not receiving it. He told me that I was young and well enough to get it and should be getting it. I knew then, that I was fortunate to be in the arm that was going to be getting it. It made me wonder what would I have done if I was not in the group getting the drug. Anyway, I left there reassured that I was, after everything,doing the right thing. I also felt comfortable with my decision to get things going as soon as possible now, so we could begin beating this back into oblivion. I left Palo Alto and took the scenic route back in to San Fran. My flight wasn't until 10:00 p.m. so, I had some time to kill. I headed over to Highway 1 through La Honda and up through Half Moon Bay. I did not stop until I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a cloud free day and I got some great shots of the city that I will upload here later. Got in to Atlanta, and headed straight to Piedmont. My port was scheduled to be put in this morning, and I had to check in by seven a.m. They almost needed no drugs to knock me out I was so tired. Got that taken care of and Andrea drove me back home. Took a couple of percocet's and then slept about 10 hours straight. Woke up this morning and it feels like somebody punched me in the chest. The realization of the future treatments and the painful side effects became all to real to me then. This was for real and and I now had a scar on my chest to prove it. It took a while, but later in the day, I knew I was mentally prepared for this challenge. My body was ready to take the drugs in because of the port. I am in effect, ready to go.