Week 2 - Post Surgery Review

Today marks 2 weeks since my surgery. I have been home for a week and recovery is well underway.

The week started with some terrible back pain. Apparently 12 hours on an operating room table and 6 days in a hospital bed can be detrimental to you back alignment. :) I have gone to the chiropractor several times this week and for the first time since I have been home, I had a reasonable night's sleep and was able to get up, shower, and get my breakfast by my self. Its nice to be able to let Kim sleep a little. She has been getting up 4-5 times a night with me to address issues with my back.

Last Tuesday, we had our first Dr. Appointment with the local radiation oncologist. Dr. Das Gupta. He walked us through his recommended treatment plan. The standard plan would be 6 weeks - 5 days a week of Radiation on the entire brain area in conjunction with Oral Chemo. The chemo would be 5 days of pills followed by 4 weeks off for 6-7 months. Dr. Das Gupta was very good. We talked to him about second opinions, and he highly recommended that we get one. His recommendation was Minesh Mehta from UW Madison, who is world-renowned expert on brain tumors.

UW is ranked very high in the Oncology Community as a center of excellence. Dr. Das Gupta studied under Mehta and was able to get us an appt on Thursday of last week (which was amazing).

So, Thursday - my Mom, Dad, Kim and I trekked up to UW Madison to meet with Dr. Mehta. The drive was actually not too bad only about 1:15.

UW Madison was very impressive. They have a pretty amazing team of drs. Dr. Mehta was awesome. He had reviewed my case and agreed with Dr. Das Gupta on the plan of treatment. He did have an alternative solution that we are exploring as well. Apparently there is a clinical trial involving the Oral Chemo that I may be eligible for. It would basically entail a lower dose, longer term pill. The initial results have been impressive 2 years post treatment.

Dr. Mehta wanted to dig more into my case and ordered an MRI and a review of the pathology of my Tumor. We went back to UW last night to do the MRI and have a follow up appt with him on Tuesday.

So after our next appt with Dr. Mehta on Tuesday, Kim and I will be making some decisions on which treatment plan we will do. Treatment can't start until 3-6 weeks post surgery (they want you to be fairly healed from the surgery before beginning the radiation and chemo) I expect that treatment will begin either the 21st or 28th of January.

So, in general, I am feeling better and am mentally ready to tackle the treatment plan. Kim and I were definitely impressed with UW Madison and are looking forward to the next appt.