All Day

Tommy actually got up before I did today. He was on the road by 5:00 am and returned home around 8:30 pm. Thanks to his cousin, Martin, for taking the day to spend with Tom. I am so glad that Tom did not have to go alone to the other side of the state.

Tom met with the doctor first thing. They talked about the side effects & reducing the dosage. Tom is currently the only patient in the study who is receiving the full dose. Tom's side effects are boarder line from having to be reduced. They assured Tom that patients are still having good results with reduced doses. You know my husband and how stubborn he is! Tom was reminded not to be a hero and be honest about all the severity of the side effects as their is a potential for liver damage. Tom has completed cycle 1 of the study and the end of the 8 hour days in Detroit. Cycle 2 reduces his stay to 4 hours per visit. Tom was not able to start the program first thing because his potassium levels were low. This is a direct result because of the change of Tom's diet and lack of solid foods.

Tom was able to meet another MTC (medullary thyroid cancer) patient that is currently participating in the study. Tom really enjoyed meeting this person and talking about their experiences. Tom came home uplifted and thankful that he was able to spend some time with this person.

Last week when Tom had his blood drawn from the West side, they also took his calcitonin level. All the labs came back in the normal range, including his platelets. I could not believe the Calcitonin level and had to call the PCP's office to make sure I was not misreading it. The level is now at 543. Tom's level at the start of this study was 1306. All I could think about is that back at U of M they mentioned the importance of this level. We are taking this as good news!

In my daily devotions I have read this and wanted to share it with you:

Confidence is not based on wishful thinking, but in knowing that God is in control.

Psalms 27:13 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." NTV