Treatment / Appointment Tomorrow

Hi Everyone - I have not posted in a long time. Life has been really busy and I've personally struggled to keep up with everything.

To fill you in on what has happened between the last post and now, the Doctors called about a week and a half ago and said there was an oversight on Dad's last scan and now, although the blood from his fall dramatically decreased, they think the spots that were located in the lower spine/tailbone area are for sure melanoma and they seem to have progressed some. Still small, but still growth can be seen and although Dad continues to be on the concoction of daily pain meds, he has been beginning to feel more pain again, depending on the day. SO, after meeting with the current oncologist, the radiation oncologist and the spine/brain surgery doctor, they decided to get a second oncology opinion finally and that appointment is tomorrow. From this appointment, Dad will likely start the BRAF melanoma chemo drug, Zelboraf this week as soon as possible. I will try to let you know if this does not become the case, but it seems like the route. This was the drug Dad was supposed to start after returning from Hawaii. The side effects vary person to person and depending on the dosage - the treatment is given in pill form at home. Still waiting to hear if he will also get in for a PET scan tomorrow again prior to the appointment. Regardless of these developments, his next brain MRI is still scheduled for either the last week in October or first week in November. Will try to update more after the appointment tomorrow.

Aften