Duke consultation, part 2

Ok, we are still in the office. We are discussing things with Paula. We explain that this is all pretty new to us and that 2 weeks to the day before this appointment was when I had gone in to work for my ultrasound thinking something was wrong with my gallbladder. Wait a minute, she says. You’ve had an ultrasound, CT, biopsy, pathology results, an oncology consult, your port placed and are here seeing us within 2 weeks? Yes ma’am. And, since we’re here, if you have time to see us tomorrow we can spend another night with my Aunt and come back for paperwork and labs tomorrow. She will check her schedule and call me later. I think I like this chick. I get the impression she can make things happen.

Back to Leila’s to wait on word from Paula. We leave Jim to chill out a bit and Jenna, Leila and I head to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Remember where we live… this is a big deal for Jenna and I : )

Paula calls back and can see us at noon tomorrow. We are 99.9% certain of this choice. I place a call to Dr. K, my oncologist in Virginia because now he has had another day and a half to hear back from the contacts he had made on my behalf. Give him the brief update and that we are 99.9% ready to do this but what else has he heard? He tells me that he has heard back from most of his East coast contacts, some of whom referred him to this exact study. “Lisa, this is where you belong”. Ok, now maybe we can let ourselves go from cautiously optimistic to excited. It is certainly the first time we’ve felt genuine hope in two weeks!

Wednesday we return and do the paperwork with Paula. Jim asks if I’m the only woman in the pancreatic arm of this study. Actually, I am only the third person in Phase 2 of the pancreatic arm at Duke and we are all women. I’m the youngest with the others being early 60’s and early 70’s. Paula leaves to take a call and we wonder if the tumor reduction numbers Dr. Blobe told us about were 2 results out of 2??

Papers are signed, now off for blood work. We are waiting for another call from Paula because I also need a baseline chest/abdomen/pelvis CT and my diagnostic study from home did not include the chest. If she can arrange a radiology appointment this afternoon, she can upload the data, have it to the drug company tomorrow with approval Friday and treatment could start on Tuesday!! She calls as we sit down to eat, they can see me at 4:00. We walk around, find comfy chairs to crash in and wait for 4:00. CT goes well but by the time it’s over I am DUN. Shot, spent, exhausted, have had it. We call my folks, call Leila to let her know that she has signed up for more than she may have bargained for because we may be back on Monday to start treatment Tuesday. “I’m in!” she says.

We head back to Virginia. I am to eat, drink, take care of myself and am specifically NOT to lose weight. Now we wait to hear back on the formal approval and schedule. Wow, it’s gonna be a long road ahead and it looks like we’ll be traveling with a stealth bomber. TH302. Or as Jim decides to call it, total hope 302.