We're back!

Well vacation is over and we had a great time. It was nice to get away and just be Gerald and Julie...no doctors, medicine or talks about treatment plans. San Diego was awesome! We saw the zoo, Old Towne, the USS Midway and the Museum of Natural History. We took lots of pictures and still has time to just relax on the beach. We are convinced that Corando island is the place to retire. All we have to do is win the lottery and then we've got it made in the shade.

I went in for my PET and CT scans on Friday and we met with the doctor today to discuss the results. Great news - no cancer showed up in the scans! Dr. Pollock did explain that we are going to do chemo to keep the cancer away. He explained that there are still microscopic cells floating and we want to kill those off.

The treatment will be a little different this go round in that I will take Xeloda chemo pills. In addition to the pills I will take a medication called Avastin. The doctor explained that tumors develop blood vessels that attach themselves to good vessels. The Avastin will kill those blood vessels and prevent anymore tumors from developing. I will go in every three weeks for the Avastin and I'll take 4 chemo pills a day for two weeks and then one week off. We will continue the cycle for at least a year. During the year we will do multiple PET scans to monitor the effectiveness of the Xeloda and Avastin. I will see the doctor every three weeks prior to each treatment for regular check ups. During the first month of treatment, he has asked me to come in weekly so they can monitor any side effects and manage them, that to us shows a deep commitment to care.

So I will begin the treatment after Labor day. The doctor did not see any reason that I could not return to work as long as we keep a close eye on the side effects. I'll go back for two weeks on a part time basis and then be back to business as usual by the end of the month.