Cancer is a Game of Chess
9 March 2018
From Dave
Cancer is like a long drawn out game of chess. The Queen represents “Hope”. All the other pieces rush around looking at new treatments, new skirmishes, but the Queen must always be protected at all costs. Without the Queen, the game is over. Hope provides the incentive to get out of bed and enjoy life.
We have just got back from the 4th (and final ?) round of PRRT in Melbourne. Fortunately no major side effects from the weedkiller, but I did manage to pick up an airline induced cold which has had me dribbling and spluttering for a few days.
This time I went with some apprehension – this is the gold standard as far as treatments for NET cancer goes. If the treatment is not working, the Queen will take a massive hit.
In a pre-treatment consultation I mentioned that in a previous meeting I had been advised of an anticipated mean of 4 years “progression free survival” following this treatment. The oncologist this trip was a new guy who I believe had been involved in a charisma transplant operation – with him as the donor. Very dry. Very negative outlook. He gave me a lecture that I should not be sucked in by population statistics and that any individual case could be above or below the mean. I argued that this was being pessimistic. My Queen lives on the right hand side of the curve and will stay there until there is clear evidence to the contrary.
So far I’ve had a comparatively smooth ride with few side effects. I have met other NET patients who are experiencing rough times – cancer in the spine causing extreme pain and needing morphine, cancer in the bones which means that every PRRT round wipes out the white blood cells which makes them weak and vulnerable for weeks, cancer in major blood vessels threatening to shut down vital organs. In my case the biggest symptom is fatigue. On a normal day I can cope, but it becomes noticeable if I do anything physical, like mowing lawns, biking, surfing, heavy gardening etc. Now that the PRRT has run its course my next mission will be to try to build up my fitness to try to build some resilience against the effects of the rust in my liver.
So where to from here? I had a set of scans and a second consultation before leaving Melbourne. The good news is that in a full body scan there is no evidence of the cancer beyond the liver. My new charisma-deficient oncologist tells me that it is early days yet (despite previous news that there was visible progress) and it will take some time before the full effects of the treatment are visible. I am scheduled for more scans in NZ in 3 months’ time, after which we will have a videoconference to work out the next steps. Once again I am leaning on the Queen in this period of uncertainty.
As always - thanks for your support through this process. I’ll continue to update as I learn more.
Photo - breakfast ! image001.jpg