Mr. Big

To go straight to the point, the results of last week's CT scan were good. Maybe not as good as I was hoping for, but the doctor said the direction is still right and that's the important thing. The blood values are more or less fine except the CEA value, which is now down to 108,9. It was 228,3 at the end of October and 3482,0 at the end of August so it has actually come down a lot. The initial CEA value you can find in this blog posting. CEA is supposed to be under 5,0 so there's still room for improvement.

Regarding the strategic measures of the tumours in the liver, some of them have shrunk in size while some haven't changed since last scan. In the report there is mention of six tumours while last summer doctors talked about more than ten. Mr. Big, which was previously 7,2cm x 5,0cm is now down to 6,7cm x 4,2cm. That is very good news but it seems Mr. Big may no longer be the biggest. The runner up hasn't changed in size since last scan and is 7,6cm x 3,7cm. The smallest of the six has come down from 11mm in diameter to 6mm. This is almost like following a car race.

We had otherwise the usual discussion with the doctor. About surgery he mentioned the situation in the liver is still too difficult. They would have to cut out too much of the liver as each tumour needs a two centimetres margin around it cut out too. Another problem is that the tumours are not next to each other but spread around. He wasn't very optimistic about ever getting to such a level that surgery would be possible either. We realise he bases his opinion on experience and he may well be right, but we also realise all patients are individuals and we still want to be optimistic.

The doctor said I'll continue the chemotherapy for another three rounds but now without Eloxatin because of the numbness in my toes and fingers. If they'd continue to push Eloxatin the nerves may never heal. The remaining drugs, Avastin and Xeloda, could still do the job though or at least keep the cancer at the same level. There's something positive in leaving out Eloxatin also. It means less side effects. I should not get the chemo-brain and tiredness the first week after injection.

And by the way, about that dog I ran over. I called up the owner a week after the incident. The dog was still alive and it would probably make it.