The pharma behind the drug trial my oncologist wants me on, is balking, because my treatment ends with surgery - chance of complications from the drug and clouding of the causal cure results.
Chemo is resched for next Tuesday. My doc is hoping that the pharma will have reconsidered by then, but if not, he plans to start the chemo on me off-Trial, sans the trial drug, but with the 3 primary, known chemo drugs. I have immense confidence in my cancer doc.
I remain in the CCNV Homeless Shelter Infirmary. Surprisingly nice staff.
My room-mate is a fellow that claims to be schizophrenic, and if he is not, he is an amazing actor- spends hours and hours and hours a day, and during the dead of night :-( , talking very sanely to fairly large groups of folks, that, uh, no one else can see. :-( He doesn't like it a lot when I asked him nicely if I might hope to get any sleep. I could get the staff to intervene, but I've learned he is leaving tomorrow. Tonight I'll see if I can stand sleeping with earbuds in my ears playing static to drown him out. Wish me luck.
Truth is it is much easier for me to sleep on the street than it is here - quieter somehow, and much, much, cooler - a breeze! And oh, is it dreary here. But hey, we are homeless riff raff. Are there no prisons? Are there on workhouses?... And, that there is ANYTHING for we poor and homeless in this OF BY AND FOR THE OVER-PRIVILEGED Amerika (you don't think the City in "Hunger Games" is some FUTURE fantasy, do you?), is credit to HEROES, SHEROES like Doc Cardile at Unity Healthcare, and a few others. Amazing. I'll forever be grateful, admiring, inspired.
But, over all, this Homeless Shelter Infirmary is likely to work out, it seems. Good food prepared by
DC Central Kitchen, 2 to 3 times per day. INTERNET. Reasonable, tolerable, restrictions of my human rights given the order they need to maintain among a largely low functioning clientele. Surprisingly kind staff. Extremely unrestrictive after my first 5 days - Sat-Sun, I'm told, as far as my freedom to come and go early morning, late evening, to work elsewhere.
Very fatigued again today. Hardly completed any work at all. Slept, a lot, so much so that I shouldn't be able to sleep tonight, but maybe I will be able to anyway.
Tests continue to indicate that my tumors remain operable, giving the med team the chance of giving me a 40% chance of a normal lifespan; otherwise going pretty quick, as cancer does once in the liver.
Doc again said I had the option of bypassing the 2 mos chemo and going right to the operation to cut out the tumors, but he and the surgeon still recommend the 2 mos chemo first, so that's what I'll do. The tests do not SHOW any other, or new, tumors - brain, chest, abdomen, torso... but there could be, and they want to reduce the chances they've missed anything; and 2 mos chemo will be some insurance in that regard.
I'm very grateful to my Family - the few Kind souls near and far that were, remain, "there" for me, no matter what it takes or costs them - buoying me along through this process, keeping my Spirit High enough, so I could find the right info, supporters, helpers, persevere, and make it this far... just like I was part of their 'Family.' YOU KNOW WHO YOU ALL ARE. :-) Uh, so does our Creator. "They will know you by how you Love," said Her number one Son.
