The Cancer Chronicles

And So They Began…

 

July 10^th, 2009

[I’m writing this before my bone chemo kicks in and I feel like warmed over home-made $#!+. Please see note below.]

 

As much as I dislike newsletters to the world, I realized that after I started making phone calls to sons, daughters, relatives, closest friends, dear friends, concerned friends, colleagues, old maid aunts and hare-brained cousins, that I would be on the phone or writing e-mails forever. And to tell you the truth, the more I talk about it, the more depressing and morbid I become. So, I’ll just write it once and be done with it.

Hence: The Cancer Chronicles.

On June 3^rd 2009, my oncologist, Dr. S, and I decided to start my cancer treatment with a new drug called Tarceva^® (Erlotinib), a pill taken orally once a day, four hours before and after eating – this, instead of the original plan of three bags of intra-venous side effects. But first, he’ll have to send samples of my biopsy to a lab to see if I had something called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). He made the call, and they said they’ll have the results to him in two weeks. Two weeks later he called the lab and found out that they performed the wrong test. We have to wait two more weeks. Those two weeks came and went – no results.

On July 6^th, the good doctor found out that the lab had mis-logged the samples and hadn’t tested them at all. Doc Is PO’d. I’m PO’d. Well, I’m scheduled to see him the next day, so we’ll talk.

Tuesday, the 7^th I went in for our consult and some more bone chemo (Zometa^® – zoledronic acid). Doc is tired of waiting for the test, so we discussed starting Tarceva now, because, he said the chances are very high that I, a non-smoker white male (as well as Asian women) would have the right mutation.

The only problem would be paying for the pills. They retail for $4300 for thirty tablets. The nurse checked into several different plans and found one that would allow me to pay only $750 a month. I said let me try my insurance company to see what they say. So I called them and they said it would cost $720 for ninety tabs. Whoa, that’s a heck of a lot better – only $240 a month. I could do that. I called the nurse and said send the prescription to my pharmacy provider.

Now, wait, it gets better. The pharmacy people called me and the lady said she had my prescription yadda yadda yadda, and the co-pay will be $0, do I accept the co-pay? My brain went what? So, I said could you repeat that. And, she did – blah blah blah zero dollars, do I accept the co-pay? I thought it over for a second (I didn’t want to sound too anxious), and said, as calmly as I could, yes, while my brain’s going YES! YES! YES!

All I can say is: Thank God, the CT State Teacher’s Retirement Board and the taxpayers of the State of Connecticut for what has been a great insurance plan.

That’s about it for now. I wait for the pills to come. The side effects are an upper body skin rash with the possibility of blistering – hey, it beats the alternative. So, I stay out of the sun and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. And, drink Margaritas!

My G.P. Dr. Phil – honestly that’s his name – says there is a high recovery rate with Tarceva. My oncologist is pessimistically neutral, and my good friend Elaine B. says don’t believe the doctors. Well, a man’s gotta believe in something, so I believe I’ll have another Margarita.

 

Tata for now,

Rudy the T

 

Note: The first time I took the bone chemo (Zometa), it was a Friday morning. By Friday night I had chills, shakes and a slight fever and went to bed early. Woke up feeling I like I had the worst hangover known to man. And, I’ve had some hangovers. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t move, waves of nausea. And all I wanted to do sit in my TV chair and sleep it off. Woke up at 1:00 PM, took some nourishment, back to sleep, same at 5:00, and crawled up to bed at 11:00.

But I took it like a man, by which I mean I whined about it; I complained about it; I let everyone know how much I had suffered. What a wuss!

After thinking about what my wife went through and how she went through it and after talking to my good friend and three-time cancer survivor, Elaine B., I decided to start taking things like a woman I’m keeping  my mouth shut (Could you imagine a guy going through child birth? The first three months of pregnancy would kill him, let alone the actual child birth. Ha!)