MD Anderson
Well it's been a rough few days. I've been running a temperature of 100+ the last 3 days, but we have been able to keep the temp below 100 for the most part with Tylenol. The fatigue of fighting and infection or at least this fever has been a lot of work. I've lost all my appetite and all my energy.
I will be contacting my doctors Monday morning to see what we need to be doing next. Just a few weeks ago this got me 5 days in the hospital and no one could tell me why I had the fever. I'm not planning on that trip again...
As for MD Anderson... Well the insurance company finally gave me the "approval" to go to Houston and of course it took just long enough that MDA is no longer take any new appointments for 2010. In fact I can not even schedule an appointment for 2011 yet either.
I will have to just keep calling for any changes or updates to the current status of no new appointments. All my records have been shipped to MDA, so we should be in good shape once we get a date scheduled.
It will be interesting to see how much my CEA (tumor markers) go up this week. I have reduced the amount of Xeloda that I'm taking since I believe it plays a roll in my fever.
From Lisa's Office:
Here are a couple of web sites that have some updated news from around the world;
From Melbourne and a study on a protein that kills cancer cells - good stuff
From Vanguard News - and article about nutrition (though is says fighting cancer) and how important good nutrition is for you all the time. Not just after you have cancer.
Till next time Please ENJOY THE DAY and You Keep Fighting Cancer!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
You Fighting Cancer - Burzynski Treatment 41-42
The Next Event
Well after some major conversations with Lisa, my family and my oncologist the choice I made is to make a trip to MD Anderson for a review and to see what might be possible there.
Why did I make that decision vs. staying with the Burzynski treatment protocol? It was not easy for sure. Burzynski’s clinic has gotten me this far, not that the side effects as you all have read have been “bad” in my words. And I was told that the current treatment is not working and a new treatment needs to be tried.
The other issue is that my insurance will not pay for anything that Burzynski’s clinic does. The new protocol that is being called for would cost up front another $20K just to start that treatment. Burzynski Clinic has a higher success rate than most treatments, but it comes at a very high cost.
If you can get your insurance to pay, which many do now, that is one thing, but for me it’s more than just spending the money. It’s the guessing that the next treatment will work while spending that kind of money. This would be true for any treatment not just those recommended by the Burzynski Clinic.
MD Anderson also has trials in Cryosurgery just to name one that could be a possibility for my cancer. It is also good to see/hear what other options are out there.
So right now I’m waiting on insurance to “approve” my trip to MD Anderson before we schedule the trip. Everyone is ready and in agreement to go, but the insurance company is the road block at the moment.
So, the next event is in works and we will keep you posted on the outcome and recommendations from MD Anderson. Until then – ENJOY THE DAY!
Well after some major conversations with Lisa, my family and my oncologist the choice I made is to make a trip to MD Anderson for a review and to see what might be possible there.
Why did I make that decision vs. staying with the Burzynski treatment protocol? It was not easy for sure. Burzynski’s clinic has gotten me this far, not that the side effects as you all have read have been “bad” in my words. And I was told that the current treatment is not working and a new treatment needs to be tried.
The other issue is that my insurance will not pay for anything that Burzynski’s clinic does. The new protocol that is being called for would cost up front another $20K just to start that treatment. Burzynski Clinic has a higher success rate than most treatments, but it comes at a very high cost.
If you can get your insurance to pay, which many do now, that is one thing, but for me it’s more than just spending the money. It’s the guessing that the next treatment will work while spending that kind of money. This would be true for any treatment not just those recommended by the Burzynski Clinic.
MD Anderson also has trials in Cryosurgery just to name one that could be a possibility for my cancer. It is also good to see/hear what other options are out there.
So right now I’m waiting on insurance to “approve” my trip to MD Anderson before we schedule the trip. Everyone is ready and in agreement to go, but the insurance company is the road block at the moment.
So, the next event is in works and we will keep you posted on the outcome and recommendations from MD Anderson. Until then – ENJOY THE DAY!
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