Part Three

Good morning, fans.  Hope you're having a great weekend!  Let's see if I can't wreck a little of it for you.

Spent about 5 hours at the UNM Cancer Center on Friday.  It's a beautiful $100 million facility that opened in 2009.  Best place to have cancer in New Mexico . . . gardens, meditation rooms, sculptures . . . and lots of sick people.

I must say the treatment I received was first class all the way.  I had a "personal navigator" named James LaCour who was with me all day:  giving me a tour of the place, dropping me off at and picking me up from appointments, handling all the scheduling, ordering prescriptions for me; basically facilitating everything.  He was muy fantastico and I was suitably impressed by the experience – especially after my less-than-wonderful experience at UNM Hospital.

Met with the two docs who will oversee my treatment.  Both of them are Asian guys named Dr. Lee.  One is a radiation oncologist and the other is a medical oncologist (the chemo guy).  Both seem very smart and personable, especially the medical oncologist, whom I think is a little higher up in the hospital pecking order and seems to be the top guy in my deal.  He took a lot of time with me, even though I know he was slammed and had moved my appointment up from Monday to see me on Friday.  We talked about some different treatments, stuff that's been tried and its results, a trial that was recently closed down, and what my treatment is going to be.

And that is this: daily radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks, plus simultaneous daily chemo administered orally 7 days a week during the same period.  After that I get a month off, then it's back to the MRI's and whatever to check out how well the treatment is working.

I was shown this weird net-like plastic mask that will go over my face and somehow mold to it (like in ALIEN) while I'm getting blasted to protect non-cancerous areas from the radiation.  Then it comes off and I get to take it home if I want to.  This is intriguing . . . perhaps I can make Steve Bliss masks available to you at a nominal fee to help defray the cost of my treatment.  I have no doubt you'll all want one.

It was good to have real conversations with real doctors to understand what's up with my big fat GC.  Up until now, I've tried to keep this blog as light as I can through the first two parts, but I'm going to share a little more info with you now.  If it's more than you care to know, it's OK to stop reading now.

Most of this info is lifted from the National Brain Tumor Society web site at www.braintumor.org.  My tumor is called a Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).  It is the most common and deadliest of malignant primary brain tumors in adults and is one of a group of tumors referred to as gliomas.  Classified as a Grade IV (most serious) astrocytoma, GBM develops primarily in the cerebral hemispheres (like mine) but can develop in other parts of the brain, brain stem, or spinal cord.

Because of its lethalness, GBM was selected as the first brain tumor to be sequenced as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas, a national effort to map the genomes of the many types of cancer. In this effort, researchers discovered that GBM has four distinct genetic sub-types that respond differently to aggressive therapies, making treatment extremely difficult and challenging.

Its incidence (number of new diagnoses made annually) is 2 to 3 per 100,000 people in the United States and Europe. GBM accounts for 12% to 15% of all intracranial tumors and 50% to 60% of astrocytic tumors.

Gosh, aren't I special?  Now the bottom line: survival stats!  Median survival rate is about 15 months.  Five-year survival rate is about 4%.

Damn, I better get cracking on that screenplay!  OK, now let me temper this grim reaper news a little.  Those median rates are skewed a LOT by people in their 70's and 80's and older getting this and dropping dead within a month or two.  I happen to be on the young end of folks who acquire this bad little mofo.  So there is more than a little hope for that survival rate to stretch longer than that 15 months in my case.  More time for medical research to catch up with my little GBM monster.

Going back to the Cancer Center on Monday for some more MRI's, then one more week for the noggin to finish up healing all nice before I start getting blasted on Mon 8/19.  Glad to delay treatment by that one week, because my wonderful old friends Ken, Lori, and Adam Keibler will be paying a visit on Sat-Sun 8/17-18!  Then our equally wonderful friends Mike & Sue McNeil will be visiting Labor Day Weekend!  The margaritas will be flowing poolside non-stop!  And of course we had a great weekend with big brother Russ last weekend.

Now THAT'S the kind of medicine Papa likes!  Looking forward to seeing all your smiling faces in the coming years . . . and decades . . . .

GOODBYE AMIGOS!  SEE YOU SOON!  HAHA!

Brain Tumor - Top of Head

Brain Tumor - Rear of Head