Seth's Info

Well, despite my best of intentions on relaxing at home this week, I’m currently in New York for a series of doctor visits at MSKCC. I met today with my radiation oncologist, Dr Yamada, and discussed my recent surgery and esophagus damage. He was surprised by the turn of events and said this was the most serious side effect he has ever had with IMRT (lucky me). He is going to review my reports and imaging studies to see what he can learn. I am also meeting tomorrow with Dr Boland, my spinal surgeon, for a follow up.

Lastly, I am meeting Friday with Dr D’Adamo, a medical oncologist who I consulted with in April. He is helping run a clinical trial with a drug called Sorafenib. Sorafenib is a targeted drug, a pill that you take daily, and appears to be generally less toxic that traditional chemotherapy regimens -- its side effects are low to moderate in most patients. With any luck I will qualify for this trial and be able to start treatment within the next month or so. They will probably want me to have recovered completely from my surgery before starting. I’ll need to get a new set of C/T scans and probably come back to NYC every 2-4 weeks (at least initially). I’m currently staying at my Dad’s apartment on First Ave and will be able to stay here through mid-November. After that I have some other options for commuting and staying in New York.

I am excited about trying out a new targeted drug, and hopeful that it will have a major effect on my tumors. I am trying hard to eat plenty and stay active in an attempt to add some muscle to my too-skinny body. The tube feeding continues without much trouble, and I am still catching up on sleep.

We should be home on Friday afternoon, in time for the weekend at home. I should know more about the trial by then, and will post the latest.

Take care,
Seth